Click here for a short history
of the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Negative number: 43051-A Aerial view of the Freer Gallery of Art, looking south, 1954. The Potomac River can be seen in the distance.

Negative number: 29403 Laying the foundation for the new Freer Gallery of Art, 6 March 1917. Visible in the background is the 1875 brick shed called the Laboratory of Natural History, the Smithsonian Institution Building, and the Arts and Industries Building. The shed was demolished in the course of construction work. The Freer building was designed by architect Charles A. Platt.

Negative number: 94-2878 Thomas Lawton, Director of the Freer Gallery of Art, places a Chinese vase in one of the exhibition cases for the Freer Galley of Art's "Chinese, Japanese and Korean Ceramics" exhibit, 1978. Photo by Raymond Schwartz.

Negative number: 82-13258-19 Cornell Evans, Ryo Nishiumi and John Marshall with paulownia wood used to make traditional storage boxes for the Freer's oriental scrolls, 1982. The boxes must be technically perfect to ensure an effective seal against humidity. The craftsmen also use the paulownia to make "futomaki" - a special type of protective roller - which must be custom fit for each scroll to prevent the delicate paper or silk from becoming creased. Photo by Jeff Ploskonka.

Negative number: 84-11807-18 The construction site of the South Yard underground museum and research complex from the top of the Smithsonian Institution Building, 1984. The complex includes the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the National Museum of African Art, and the S. Dillon Ripley International Center.

Negative number: 87-7964-23 View of the Arthur M. Sackler pavilion with pyramided roof located at the Smithsonian Institution in the four-acre Enid A. Haupt Garden. The Sackler along with the National Museum of African Art and the International Center opened to the public on September 28, 1987. On the left is the Freer Gallery of Art. Photo by Jeff Tinsley.

Negative number: 96-1388 The view down the grand staircase of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1987. The museum houses Asian art and opened as part of the Quadrangle complex on September 28, 1987. Photo by Robert Lautman.

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