Upcoming Exhibitions

  • Portrait of a young African American woman in a polka dot dress and red hat

    The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today

    October 26, 2019 - August 30, 2020

    The National Portrait Gallery has announced the finalists for its fifth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Their work will be presented in “The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today,” a major exhibition premiering October 26 through August 30, 2020.

  • sketchy bust length portrait of a man

    Recent Acquisitions

    November 15, 2019 - August 30, 2020

    The annual exhibition “Recent Acquisitions” showcases 25 portraits to recently enter the Portrait Gallery’s renowned collection. 

  • group of Dutch men

    Portraits of the World: Denmark

    December 13, 2019 - October 12, 2020

    “Portraits of the World: Denmark” will feature the painting “Kunstdommere” (Art Judges) by Michael Ancher (1849–1927), on loan from the Museum of National History in Hillerød, Denmark. 

  • Bearded man with a heavy coat

    John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal

    February 28, 2020 - May 31, 2020

    This once-in-a-lifetime assemblage of master drawings—many of them from private collections and rarely exhibited—features compelling depictions of an international network of trailblazing men and women who helped define twentieth-century Anglo-American culture. 

  • “Warranted to Give Satisfaction”: Daguerreotypes by Jeremiah Gurney

    June 12, 2020 - June 6, 2021

    In 1840, Jeremiah Gurney abandoned his career as a jeweler to establish one of New York City’s first daguerreotype studios. 

  • woman standing next to a large photo of herself

    Her Story: A Century of Women Writers

    July 10, 2020 - January 10, 2021

    “Her Story: A Century of Women Writers” will highlight 24 noted women writers from the last one hundred years who are represented in the Portrait Gallery’s collection.

  • One Life: Will Rogers

    July 26, 2020 - May 16, 2021

    Will Rogers enduring legacy as an actor and on-screen talent of Native American heritage survives in a wide array of media, including painted portraits, engaging sculpture, a plethora of caricatures, movie paraphernalia, photographs and film.