Director's Message

waist length portrait of a woman in a blue jacket with blond hair
Kim Sajet | Photo by Grace Roselli

 

Welcome to the National Portrait Gallery! Whether you’re visiting us in person at the museum or remotely online, I hope you’ll find there is plenty to experience. We continue to meet our visitors wherever they are to tell the story of the nation and its people through visual biography.

We’ve missed seeing you and are excited to be able to now welcome visitors back to the museum, Wednesday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you are able to visit us in person, please check our Visit page for the latest updates on which galleries will be opened and closed as well as visitor guidelines. The health of our visitors and staff remains our top priority.  The Portrait Gallery remains free admission and timed-entry tickets are now required for all ages so please be sure to reserve your time slot in advance.

If you can’t make it out to the museum, we looking forward to meeting up with you online. We continue to offer a robust collection of opportunities to learn about the people who have shaped — and are continuing to change — our nation’s history. Join us here at “Visit at Home” for online tours of our exhibitions, listen to stories about remarkable individuals on our podcast, discover our open access collection, and participate in workshops from story time for kids to art-making sessions for all ages. Some offerings are also available in ASL and Spanish, and activities for those parent-teachers schooling at home are accessible through the Smithsonian’s Learning Lab.

Thank you for being part of the National Portrait Gallery community. We look forward to seeing you!

Best,

Kim Sajet
Director
Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery