Art Museum
National Portrait Gallery
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
National Portrait Gallery is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States.
About National Portrait Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded in 1962 and opened in 1968, it is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections focus on images of American artists, politicians, scientists, inventors, activists, and performers who have contributed to the nation's history, development, and culture. Along with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the museum is housed in the historic Old Patent Office Building.
National Portrait Gallery by the numbers
- Founded
- 1962
- Visitors / year
- 329,683
Plan your visit
National Portrait Gallery
- Website
- npg.si.edu
Museums near National Portrait Gallery
- Art Museum National Gallery of Art Washington, D.C., United States
- Palace White House Washington, D.C., United States
- Art Museum Corcoran Gallery of Art Washington, D.C., United States
- Library Library of Congress Washington, D.C., United States
- Art Museum The Phillips Collection Washington, D.C., United States
- Art Museum Walters Art Museum Baltimore, United States
What's on
Abraham Lincoln by W.F.K. Travers
10 Feb 2023 – 31 Dec 2027
Second Foor | South Galleries The National Portrait Gallery is proud to announce the installation of a life-size painting of President Abraham Lincoln by artist W.F.K.
Isaac Julien: Lessons of the Hour—Frederick Douglass
8 Dec 2023 – 9 Aug 2026
Second Foor | South Galleries The moving image installation interweaves period reenactments across five screens to create a vivid picture of 19th-century activist, writer, orator…
Meserve Collection Highlights: Modern Prints from Mathew Brady’s Portrait Negatives
23 May 2025 – 14 May 2028
The Portrait Gallery’s vast collection of Civil War-era, portrait negatives is represented in this exhibition through nine modern prints from Mathew Brady’s (c.
American Winners: Athletes and Entertainers Who Shaped the Nation
26 Sep 2025 – 30 Aug 2026
Second Foor | West Galleries Athletic performance and creative expression are hallmarks of the American experience.
Portrait of a Nation: 2025 Honorees
12 Dec 2025 – 17 Oct 2027
First Floor | Established in 2015, the Portrait of a Nation Awards honor extraordinary individuals who have made transformative contributions to the United States and its people.
The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today
24 Jan 2026 – 30 Aug 2026
Second Foor | North Galleries “The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today” will present the latest in contemporary portraiture selected from the museum’s triennial Outwin…
Teen Portrait Competition, 2025
24 Jan 2026 – 30 Aug 2026
Second Foor | North Galleries The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has announced the winners of the 2025 Teen Portrait Competition, a triennial event inspired by the…
Star Power: Photographs from Hollywood’s Golden Age by George Hurrell (A Sequel)
13 Feb 2026 – 10 Jan 2027
First Floor | During the 1930s and early 1940s, George Hurrell (1904–1992) reigned as Hollywood’s preeminent portrait photographer.