Freer Gallery of Art History

National Museum of Asian Art is known for the quality and array of its Asian art collection and focused display of work by nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American artists. This timeline explores the history of the museum, its collection and founder, Charles Lang Freer, to understand his belief of the universality of beauty, a principle that guided his acquisition of diverse art, using images compiled by the National Museum of Asian Art Education Department.

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Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art

an old black and white photo of a man with a beard wearing a suit jacket

SOVA: Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives

1873–80: Born on February 25, 1854, in Kingston, New York, Charles Lang Freer begins to build his fortune in the railroad car manufacturing industry. Colonel Frank Hecker and Freer organize Peninsular Car Works in Detroit. Charles Lang Freer; photograph by CM Hayes & Co.; Detroit, 1880s; Charles Lang Freer Papers; Freer|Sackler Archives

an ink drawing of two birds flying under a bridge

Iris Sketch

Lowell Massachusetts

James Abbott Mcneill Whistler

James Mcneill Whistler

Sketch after Cecil Lawson's "Swan and Iris" - Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art

1883: Freer begins collecting fine art prints by contemporary European artists. Swan and Iris; James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903); United States, ca. 1883; etching on paper; Gift of Charles Lang Freer; F1883.1

a drawing of a canal with buildings on both sides

Cleveland Museum Of Art

Classic Image

National Gallery Of Art

Large Picture Frames

Old Master

Quiet Canal - Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art

1887: Freer meets New York collector Howard Mansfield (1849–1938) and discovers the work of American artist James McNeill Whistler (1834¬–1903). Freer purchases the entire Second Venice Set, twenty-six “fine impressions” of etchings by Whistler, from the Knoedler Gallery. This marks the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership with Whistler. Quiet Canal; James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903); United States, 1879–80; Gift of Charles Lang Freer; F1887.25

1887: Freer begins to collect Asian art through New York dealers. His first work of Japanese art, a fan decorated with a crane design, was later found to have an inauthentic signature and seal of Ogata Kōrin. A Crane; style of Ogata Kōrin 尾形光琳 (1658–1716); Japan, Edo period, 19th century; ink and color on paper; Gift of Charles Lang Freer; F1887.1 Ogata Korin, Japan Culture Art, Neolithic Period, Crane Design, Antique Fans, Smithsonian Museum, Japanese Fan, National Mall, Japan Culture

A crane - Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art

1887: Freer begins to collect Asian art through New York dealers. His first work of Japanese art, a fan decorated with a crane design, was later found to have an inauthentic signature and seal of Ogata Kōrin. A Crane; style of Ogata Kōrin 尾形光琳 (1658–1716); Japan, Edo period, 19th century; ink and color on paper; Gift of Charles Lang Freer; F1887.1

an oil painting of a man wearing a brown coat and fur collar, looking to his left

Smithsonian Institution

Portrait of Charles Lang Freer - Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art

1890: On his first trip to London, Freer meets American artist James McNeill Whistler (1834¬–1903) in person and becomes an enthusiastic collector of his work. This mutually beneficial relationship between collector and artist eventually leads to the founding of the Freer Gallery. This work by Whistler is the only portrait of Freer to enter the museum’s collection. Portrait of Charles Lang Freer; James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903); United States, 1902–3; oil on wood panel; Gift of Charles Lang

two women sitting on a porch with flowers in the foreground and another woman standing behind them

Oil Painting Reproductions

Variations in Flesh Colour and Green - The Balcony - Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art

1892: Freer purchases “Variations in Flesh Colour and Green: The Balcony,” his first oil painting by Whistler. This work represents the artist’s early experiments with applying conventions derived from Japanese prints to depictions of contemporary London. Variations in Flesh Colour and Green: The Balcony; James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903); United States, 1864–70, additions 1870–79; oil on wood panel; Gift of Charles Lang Freer; F1892.23a–b

a white vase sitting on top of a table next to a white wall and floor

Sake bottle - Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art

1892: Freer purchases his first Japanese ceramic from New York art dealer Takayanagi Tōzō. He is fascinated by works of diverse origins that are nonetheless related in color or surface texture. The underglazed decoration on this Satsuma ware bottle, for example, reminds him of a “Whistlerian landscape." Bottle; attributed to Kano Tangen (1679–1767); Japan, Edo period, 19th century; stoneware with cobalt pigment under clear glaze; Gift of Charles Lang Freer; F1892.26

a painting of three women walking in the grass

Abbott Handerson Thayer

A Virgin | Freer Gallery of Art & Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

1893: Freer purchases “A Virgin” by Abbott Handerson Thayer to hang in the stairwell of his home. He also lends several American paintings from his personal collection to the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. A Virgin; Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921); United States, 1892–1893; oil on canvas; Gift of Charles Lang Freer; F1893.11a

three men standing next to each other in front of a wall

Japan Landscape

Japanese Woodblock Printing

Kyoto Japan

Design History

Woodblock Print

Freer, Japan, 1895-1911

1894–95: At American artist James McNeill Whistler’s (1834¬–1903) urging, Freer makes his first tour of Asia. Before the visit, Freer had delighted in Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e) like many other collectors at that time. But after his trip to Asia, a considerable change occurs in Freer’s collecting habits. Charles Lang Freer and two rickshaw men in Kyoto, Japan; 1895; Charles Lang Freer Papers; Freer|Sackler Archives; FSA.A.01 12.01.6

two panels with flowers and leaves on them

Summer and autumn flowers - Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art

1896: Freer meets Japanese art dealer Matsuki Bunkyo (1867¬–1940) in Boston and begins to collect Japanese paintings. He purchases this six-panel folding screen from Bunkyo and loans Japanese prints to an exhibition at the Grolier Club in New York. Summer and Autumn Flowers; Sōtatsu school; Japan, Edo period, 17th century; six-panel screen, color over gold on paper; Gift of Charles Lang Freer; F1896.82

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a painting of a boy sitting on a tree branch in front of a snowy mountain

Pierre Auguste Renoir

Art Japonais

Boy Viewing Mount Fuji - Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art

1897–98: Freer's collection grows significantly as he purchases many Chinese and Japanese ceramics and Japanese paintings. He also purchases 276 works by American artist James McNeill Whistler, mostly etchings and drawings from the Haden Collection. Boy Viewing Mount Fuji; Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760–1849); Japan, Edo period, 1839; hanging screen, ink and color on silk; Gift of Charles Lang Freer; F1898.110

an old photo of a man kneeling down next to a painting and a vase on the floor

Vintage Detroit

The Peacock

1899: At the age of forty-five, Freer retires from active business to devote himself to collecting art. This photo shows how Freer juxtaposed a painting by American artist James McNeill Whistler with a ceramic piece from the Islamic world, comparing the jar’s glaze with Whistler’s color harmonies. Freer comparing Whistler's “Venus Rising from the Sea” (F1903.174) to an Islamic glazed ceramic pot (F1905.61); photograph by Alvin Langdon Coburn (American, 1882–1966); 1909; Charles Lang Freer Pape

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Chinese Art

Search results for: Photographic portrait of Ernest Fenollosa, ca. 1890, page 1

1901: Freer meets Ernest Fenollosa (1853–1908), a scholar-dealer who proves to be a key advisor in Freer's quest to become a connoisseur of Japanese and Chinese art. Photographic portrait of Ernest Fenollosa, ca. 1890s; Freer|Sackler Archives; FSA A.01 12.03.02

a blue vase sitting on top of a white table

Jar - Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art

1902: Freer acquires his first examples of Near Eastern pottery, chiefly Raqqa wares made in Iran, from the Paris-based dealer Dikran Kelekian. Jar; Iran, 19th century; stone-paste painted under glaze; Gift of Charles Lang Freer; F1902.197

an ornate room with green walls and gold accents

The Peacock Room | In London

1902: Freer spends the summer in Britain and sees James McNeill Whistler’s Peacock Room in London. The Peacock Room was once the dining room in the London home of Frederick R. Leyland, a wealthy ship-owner from Liverpool, England, and Whistler’s most important patron. View of the southeast corner of the Peacock Room; James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903); 1876–77