National Gallery of Art
Washington D.C. · United States · Founded 1937
The United States' national art museum on the National Mall, displaying works from the Middle Ages to the present and the only Leonardo da Vinci painting in the Americas.
2.6 million
Annual Visitors
150,000 works
Collection
2–4 hours
Recommended Visit
John Russell Pope (West Building, 1941) · I. M. Pei (East Building, 1978)
Architect
About National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in 1937 for the American people by a joint resolution of Congress.
Andrew W. Mellon donated a substantial art collection and funds for construction. The core collection includes major works of art donated by Paul Mellon, Ailsa Mellon Bruce, Lessing J. Rosenwald, Samuel Henry Kress, Rush Harrison Kress, Peter Arrell Browne Widener, Joseph E. Widener, and Chester Dale.
The Gallery's campus consists of two buildings: the West Building, designed by John Russell Pope in the neoclassical style, and the East Building, designed by I. M. Pei in a strikingly modern geometric form.
The collection includes the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Americas, Ginevra de' Benci, alongside major works by virtually every important Western artist.
Masterworks & Must-See Highlights
The works that define National Gallery of Art — and why they matter.
Ginevra de'Benci
Leonardo da Vinci · c. 1474–1478
West Building, Italian Galleries
The only Leonardo da Vinci painting on permanent public display in the Americas. The portrait of a Florentine noblewoman — with her characteristic sfumato and botanical precision in the juniper leaves — was acquired by the NGA in 1967 for a then-record $5 million.
The Alba Madonna
Raphael · c. 1510
West Building, Italian Gallery
A circular tondo depicting the Virgin and Child with the young St John the Baptist. Raphael's pyramidal composition and luminous colour achieve the serene classical balance that made him the most admired painter of the High Renaissance.
Woman Holding a Balance
Johannes Vermeer · c. 1664
West Building, Dutch Galleries
A woman stands at a window weighing gold or pearls on a small scale. Behind her hangs a Last Judgement painting — setting the earthly weighing of precious things against divine judgement. One of Vermeer's finest works.
Collections & Highlights
Frequently Asked Questions
A small ask before you go
You've just explored one of humanity's greatest collections of beauty. Art has the power to move us, inspire us, and change how we see the world. But millions of people will never see beauty like this — not because the art isn't there, but because they can't see at all.
Preventable blindness, caused by conditions like cataracts and trachoma, affects people of all ages across the world's poorest communities. A small gift — for the cost of a museum ticket — can provide a simple surgery to restore someone's sight and transform their life.