Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M Sackler Gallery Archives

Art museum in Washington, D.C.

Freer Gallery of Art

Established	1923
Location	1050 Independence Avenue Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°53′17″Due north 77°01′39″Westward  /  38.888135°N 77.02739°W  / 38.888135; -77.02739 Coordinates: 38°53′17″N 77°01′39″Due west  /  38.888135°Due north 77.02739°Westward  / 38.888135; -77.02739
Director	Hunt F. Robinson
Public transit admission	Smithsonian
Website	www.asia.si.edu
Freer Gallery Of Fine art
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Front archway to the Freer Gallery of Art
Congenital	1923
Builder	Platt, Charles A.
Architectural style	Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Florentine Renaissance
NRHP referenceNo.	69000295[one]
Added to NRHP	June 23, 1969

The Freer Gallery of Fine art is an art museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. focusing on Asian art. The Freer and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery together form the Smithsonian's national museums of Asian fine art in the United states. The Freer and Sackler galleries business firm the largest Asian art inquiry library in the country and contain art from East asia, Southern asia, Southeast Asia, the Islamic earth, the ancient Well-nigh Eastward, and aboriginal Egypt, as well equally a significant drove of American art.

The gallery is located on the due south side of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., face-to-face with the Sackler Gallery. The museum is open 364 days a twelvemonth (being closed on Christmas), and is administered by a single staff with the Sackler Gallery. The galleries were among the near visited fine art museums in the world.

The Freer houses over 26,000 objects spanning 6,000 years of history from the Neolithic to modern eras. The collections include ancient Egyptian stone sculpture and wooden objects, ancient Nigh Eastern ceramics and metalware, Chinese paintings and ceramics, Korean pottery and porcelain, Japanese folding screens, Persian manuscripts, and Buddhist sculpture. In add-on to Asian art, the Freer also contains the famous Harmony in Blueish and Gold: The Peacock Room (better known equally The Peacock Room) by American artist James McNeill Whistler which serves as the centerpiece to the Freer'due south American art collection.

The museum offers free tours to the public and presents a full schedule events for the public including films, lectures, symposia, concerts, performances, and discussions. Over 11,000 objects from the Freer|Sackler collections are fully searchable and bachelor online.^[ii] The Freer was also featured in the Google Fine art Project, which offers online viewers close-up views of selected items from the Freer.^[3]

History [edit]

Entrance to the Freer Gallery of Art

Founding [edit]

The gallery was founded by Detroit railroad-car manufacturer and self-taught connoisseur Charles Lang Freer. He owned the largest collection of works past American artist James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) and became a patron and friend of the famously irascible creative person. Whistler made it very clear to Freer that if he helped him to build the premier Whistler collection, so that collection would have to be displayed in a metropolis where tourists went.^[iv]

In 1908, Charles Moore, a onetime adjutant to Michigan United states Senator, James McMillin and the chairman of the United states Commission of Fine Arts, moved from Washington, D.C., to Detroit. Moore became friends with Freer, who was director of the Michigan Automobile Company, and persuaded Freer to permanently exhibit his viii,000-piece drove of Oriental art in Washington, D.C. Before then, Freer informally proposed to President Theodore Roosevelt that he give to the nation his art collection, funds to construct a edifice, and an endowment fund to provide for the study and acquisition of "very fine examples of Oriental, Egyptian, and Almost Eastern fine arts."^[5]

The Freer gift was accepted on behalf of the regime by the Smithsonian Board of Regents in 1906. Freer's will, still, contained certain requirements that only objects from the permanent collection could be exhibited in the gallery, and that none of the art could be exhibited elsewhere. Freer felt strongly that all of the museum'due south belongings should be readily accessible to scholars at all times. In addition, Freer's heritance to the Smithsonian came with the proviso that he would execute full curatorial control over the collection until his decease. The Smithsonian initially hesitated at the requirements but the intercession of President Theodore Roosevelt allowed for the project to proceed. The Freer Gallery possesses an autographed letter from Roosevelt inviting Freer to visit him at the White House, reflecting the personal interest Roosevelt showed in the development of the museum. Freer died before the art gallery was completed.^{[ citation needed ]}

Structure and architecture [edit]

Construction of the gallery began in 1916 and was completed in 1921, later on a delay due to Earth War I.^[6] On May 9, 1923, the Freer Gallery of Art was opened to the public. Designed by American builder and mural planner Charles A. Platt, the Freer is an Italian Renaissance-manner building inspired by Freer's visits to palazzos in Italian republic.^[7] It is reported that in a meeting with architect Charles Platt at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, Freer jotted downwardly his ideas for a classical, well-proportioned edifice on a napkin.^[8] The gallery is constructed primarily of granite: the outside of the Freer is pink granite quarried in Milford, Massachusetts, the courtyard has a carnelian granite fountain and walls of unpolished Tennessee white marble. The gallery's interior walls are Indiana limestone, and the floors are polished Tennessee marble.^{[ citation needed ]}

A major renovation of the edifice, which culminated in a one thousand reopening in 1993, greatly expanded storage and exhibition space past connecting the Freer and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. With the add-on of the connecting gallery, the Freer has 39,039 square feet (3,626.8 m^two) of public space. The original structure designed by Platt remains intact, including the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Auditorium which serves every bit the venue for many public programs.^{[ citation needed ]}

Current [edit]

After opening in 1923, the Freer served as the Smithsonian'south first museum dedicated to the fine arts.^[9] The Freer was as well the first Smithsonian museum created from a private collector'southward bequest. Through the years, the collections take grown through gifts and purchases to nigh triple the size of Freer's original donation: nearly 18,000 works of Asian art have been added since Freer's death in 1919.^{[ citation needed ]}

The Freer is now connected past an underground exhibition space to the neighboring Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Although their collections are stored and exhibited separately, the two museums share a director, assistants, and staff. The Freer airtight for extensive renovations in January 2016 and reopened in October 2017.^[10]

Exhibitions [edit]

Because i of the main atmospheric condition of Charles Lang Freer donation stated that just items from his drove may be exhibited at the gallery, the Freer does not borrow from or lend out items to other institutions. However, due to the 26,000 objects in the gallery's collections, they are withal able to present exhibitions internationally recognized for both depth and quality.

The Freer also has a number of rotating/temporary exhibits.

American art at the Freer [edit]

The Peacock Room by Whistler

Freer began collecting American fine art in the 1880s.^[8] In 1890, later on meeting James Abbott McNeill Whistler, an American artist influenced past Japanese prints and Chinese ceramics, Freer began to expand his collections to include Asian art. He maintained his interest in American fine art, notwithstanding, amassing a collection of over 1,300 works by Whistler, which is considered the globe's finest.^{[ citation needed ]}

One of the most well-known exhibits at the Freer is The Peacock Room, an opulent London dining room painted by Whistler in 1876–77. The room was designed for British shipping magnate F.R. Leyland^[11] and is lavishly decorated with green and gold peacock motifs. Purchased past Freer in 1904 and installed in the Freer Gallery afterward his death, The Peacock Room is on permanent display.^{[ citation needed ]}

The Freer also has works past Thomas Dewing (1851–1938), Dwight Tryon (1849–1925), Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), Childe Hassam (1859–1935), Winslow Homer (1836–1910), Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907), Willard Metcalf (1858–1925), John Vocaliser Sargent (1856–1925), and John Twachtman (1853–1902).^[12]

F|South Online [edit]

The Freer|Sackler provides several online resources for exploring the art and culture of Asia and its American art collections. Besides the collections objects viewable online, thousands of photographs, archeological diaries, maps, and archaeological squeezes (impressions of carvings) have been digitized and are used past researchers from around the world.

F|S Athenaeum and Library [edit]

This earthenware dish from ninth century Abbasid, Republic of iraq is one of the many artifacts exhibited at the Freer Gallery.

The Freer Sackler Archives^[xiii] houses over 120 important manuscripts collections relevant to the study of America's encounter with Asian art and civilization. The cadre collection is the personal papers of gallery founder Charles Lang Freer, which includes his purchase records, diaries, and personal correspondence with public figures such as artists, dealers and collectors. Freer's extensive correspondence with James McNeill Whistler forms ane of the largest sources of primary documents about the American artist. Other meaning collections in the Archives includes the papers (notebooks, letters, photography, squeezes) and personal objects of the German archeologist Ernst Herzfeld (1879–1946), documenting his research at Samarra, Persepolis and Pasargadae. The papers of Carl Whiting Bishop^[fourteen] Dwight William Tryon, Myron Bement Smith,^[15] Benjamin March^[16] and Henri Vever^[17] are also located at the Archives. The Archives likewise holds over 125,000 photographs of Asia dating from the 19th and early on 20th centuries. Highlights of photographic holdings include the Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of 19th century photography of Japan,^[18] the 1903-1904 photographs of the Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi, and photographs of Iran past Antoin Sevruguin.^[19]

The Freer|Sackler Library is the largest Asian art research library in the U.s.. Open up to the public five days a week (except federal holidays) without appointment, the library collection consists of more 86,000 volumes, including about 2,000 rare books. One-half the volumes are written and catalogued in Asian languages. Originating from the collection of 4 k monographs, periodical problems, offprints, and sales catalogues that Charles Lang Freer donated to the Smithsonian Institution equally part of his gift to the nation, the F|S Library maintains the highest standards for collecting materials an active program of purchases, gifts, and exchanges.^{[ commendation needed ]}

In July 1987 the library moved to its new home in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Today information technology supports activities of both museums, such as drove development, exhibition planning, publications, and other scholarly and educational projects. Its published and unpublished resource—in the fields of Asian art and archeology, conservation, painting, sculpture, architecture, drawings, prints, manuscripts, books, and photography—are bachelor to museum staff, outside researchers, and the visiting public.^{[ citation needed ]}

Public programs [edit]

The Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Auditorium, named afterwards American financier and publisher Eugene Meyer and journalist/social activist Agnes E. Meyer, is located in the Freer and provides a venue for a broad variety of complimentary public programs. These programs include concerts of music and dance, lectures, chamber music, and dramatic presentations. It is also known for its movie series, highlighting a wide variety of Asian cultures (including a Korean Motion picture Festival and Iranian Film Festival).^{[ citation needed ]}

Near recently, the museums began the series Asia After Dark, opening up the space for musicians, dancing, Asian cuisine, and other later-work adventures. The Freer and Sackler'due south 'We Stand With Japan' in 2011 hosted Steve Aoki.^[20]

Free drop-in tours are available daily and guide visitors through both featured exhibitions and specific themes in both the Freer and Sackler galleries, and a broad range of public lectures provide in-depth experiences with prominent artists and scholars.^{[ citation needed ]}

Conservation [edit]

Care of the collections began earlier the museum came into beingness as Charles Lang Freer, the founder of the Freer Gallery of Art, hired Japanese painting restorers to care for his works and to ready them for their eventual home as part of the Smithsonian Institution. In 1932, the Freer Gallery of Art hired a full-time Japanese restorer and established what was to become the East Asian Painting Conservation Studio. This facility remains one of the few in the United States that specializes in the conservation of Asian paintings.^{[half dozen]} The Technical Laboratory was established in 1951 when chemist Rutherford J. Gettens moved from the Fogg Museum at Harvard Academy to the Freer. The laboratory was the first Smithsonian facility devoted to the use of scientific methods for the study of works of art. Over the years, the work of the Technical Laboratory expanded to include objects, paper, and exhibits conservation. The Technical Laboratory and the E Asian Painting Conservation Studio merged in 1990 to create the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research for both the Freer and Sackler Galleries.^[21]

The conservators in the Section of Conservation and Scientific Research care for and care for works of fine art in the drove and prepare them for exhibition. The department works to ensure long-term preservation and storage, safe handling, exhibition, and transport of artworks in the permanent collection, too as those on loan. In addition, conservators are responsible for conducting technical examinations of objects already in the collection and those under consideration for acquisition. They also collaborate oftentimes with the section'southward scientists on technical and applied research. Training and professional outreach efforts are an integral function of the department'south commitment to educating future conservators, museum professionals, and the public about conservation.^{[ citation needed ]}

Scholarship [edit]

The Freer has had a long tradition in serving as a centre for research and avant-garde scholarship about Asia. The Freer not only presents lectures and symposia to the public, just it also copublishes the Ars Orientalis with the University of Michigan Department of History of Art. Ars Orientalis is a peer-reviewed annual book of scholarly articles and occasional reviews of books on the art and archæology of Asia, the aboriginal Nearly East, and the Islamic world.^{[22] [23]}

The Freer and Sackler, forth with the Metropolitan Heart for Far Eastern Art Studies in Kyoto, Japan, presents the Shimada Prize for distinguished scholarship in the history of E Asian art. The laurels was established in 1992 in honor of Professor Shimada Shujiro, past the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur Thou. Sackler Gallery and by The Metropolitan Heart for Far Eastern Art Studies in Kyoto, Japan. Several fellowships are also available to support graduate students and visiting scholars, including the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship, Anne Van Biema Fellowship (Japanese Visual Arts), Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF) Fellowship (Farsi art), Lunder Fellowship, J. South. Lee Memorial Fellowship (Chinese Fine art), Smithsonian Institution Fellowship, and the Freer Fellowship.^[24]

Freer and Sackler curators are likewise involved in dozens of ongoing enquiry projects, often with colleagues from institutions effectually the globe. The results of their work tin exist seen in a variety of published formats, including exhibition catalogues, scholarly publications, and online publications.^[25]

Gallery [edit]

China [edit]

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India [edit]

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  Seated Ganesha, Hoysala dynasty, 12th–13th century

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  Sri Krsna with the flute Opaque watercolor and aureate

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  Delineation of the Lord Krishna in the Aureate Urban center from the Harivamsha

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  The Bharhut stupa, depicted on one of the friezes.

Arab republic of egypt [edit]

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  Ancient Egyptian bury mask made of wood and glass, New Kingdom, 18th or 19th Dynasty (1550–1196 BC)

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  Ancient Egyptian miniature glassware vessels, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty (1550–1307 BC)

Japan [edit]

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Nepal [edit]

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Persia [edit]

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Korea [edit]

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Syria [edit]

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Kushan [edit]

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Meet too [edit]

• Biblical Manuscripts in the Freer Drove
• Chinese painting
• History of art
• History of painting
• Indian art
• Islamic fine art
• Japanese painting
• Pewabic Pottery
• Ernst Herzfeld and Persepolis
• Zhou Jichang
• Charles Lang Freer medal
• Lin Tinggui
• J. Keith Wilson

References [edit]

1. ^ "National Annals Data Arrangement". National Register of Celebrated Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. ^ "Collections | Freer and Sackler Galleries". Asia.si.edu. 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2014-06-06 .
3. ^ "Freer|Sackler: The Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Art - Google Cultural Institute". Googleartproject.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06 .
4. ^ Linda Merrill, a quondam curator of American art at the Freer Gallery, editor of With Kindest Regards: The Correspondence of Charles Lang Freer and James McNeill Whistler, and co-author of Freer: A Legacy of Art.
5. ^ Smithsonian Institution Archives
6. ^ ^{a b} Smithsonian Institution Archives
7. ^ Caemmerer, H. Paul. "Charles Moore and the Programme of Washington." Records of the Columbia Historical Society. Vol. 46/47 (1944/1945): 237-258, 256.
8. ^ ^{a b} "Charles Lang Freer | About Us | Freer and Sackler Galleries". Asia.si.edu. 2013-03-15. Archived from the original on 2011-12-31. Retrieved 2014-06-06 .
9. ^ "The Freer Gallery of Art | About Usa | Freer and Sackler Galleries". Asia.si.edu. 2013-03-15. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-06-06 .
10. ^ "Freer Gallery of Fine art To Reopen After Nearly 2 Years". newsdesk.si.edu. Smithsonian. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
11. ^ "A Closer Look - James McNeill Whistler - Peacock Room". Asia.si.edu. Retrieved 2014-06-06 .
12. ^ "Freer and Sackler Galleries | Collections". Asia.si.edu. 2013-03-xv. Retrieved 2014-06-06 .
13. ^ "Athenaeum - Freer-Sackler".
14. ^ Bishop, Carl Whiting. "The Carl Whiting Bishop Collection" – via siris-archives.si.edu Library Catalog.
15. ^ Smith, Myron Bement. "Myron Bement Smith Drove" – via siris-athenaeum.si.edu Library Itemize.
16. ^ "Benjamin March - A Finding Aid to His Papers at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur Thou. Sackler Gallery Athenaeum".
17. ^ "Henri Vever - A Finding Aid to His Papers at the Freer Gallery of Fine art and Arthur Thousand. Sackler Gallery Archives". Archived from the original on 2013-08-05. Retrieved 2011-01-31 .
18. ^ Rosin, Henry D.; Lyman, Benjamin Smith; Ueno, Hikoma; Beato, Felice; Rosin, Nancy; Stillfried, Raimund. "Henry and Nancy Rosin Drove of Early on Photography of Japan" – via siris-archives.si.edu Library Catalog.
19. ^ "Archives: Highlights | Freer and Sackler Galleries". Asia.si.edu. 2013-03-xv. Retrieved 2014-06-06 .
20. ^ "Asia Afterward Nighttime - Freer Gallery of Fine art - We Stand with Japan | Flickr - Photo Sharing!". Flickr. 2011-05-fourteen. Retrieved 2014-06-06 .
21. ^ [1] Archived February 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
22. ^ "Ars Orientalis Freer and Sackler Galleries". Asia.si.edu. 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2014-06-06 .
23. ^ "Ars Orientalis". Freer/Sackler. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
24. ^ "Fellowships & Internships | Inquiry | Freer and Sackler Galleries". Asia.si.edu. 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2014-06-06 .
25. ^ "Curatorial Research | Freer and Sackler Galleries". Asia.si.edu. 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2014-06-06 .

External links [edit]

Media related to Freer Gallery of Art at Wikimedia Commons

• Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

venegasthestive.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freer_Gallery_of_Art

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