Public programs and events at the National Portrait Gallery.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Portrait Signs is a Deaf-led tour in American Sign Language that explores a variety of topics related to portraiture, history and biography, focusing on works from the museum’s special exhibitions and permanent collection
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Children and families are invited to learn, play and create at the Portrait Gallery! Join educators every Monday as we explore a variety of topics and artistic materials. Participants will get a closer look at art with hands-on activities, music and story times. Portrait Gallery Kids is a fun way to engage with art and each other.
Join the National Portrait Gallery for free Spanish language tours. Experience iconic art and learn from expert guides about the faces and stories that shaped the nation. Perfect for fluent speakers and language learners alike. The Portrait Gallery strives to provide programs that are accessible to all visitors. If you have any questions about the accessibility of this program, or require sign language interpretation or any other accommodations, please contact us.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Join the National Portrait Gallery for free Spanish language tours. Experience iconic art and learn from expert guides about the faces and stories that shaped the nation. Perfect for fluent speakers and language learners alike. The Portrait Gallery strives to provide programs that are accessible to all visitors. If you have any questions about the accessibility of this program, or require sign language interpretation or any other accommodations, please contact us.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Children and families are invited to learn, play and create at the Portrait Gallery! Join educators every Monday as we explore a variety of topics and artistic materials. Participants will get a closer look at art with hands-on activities, music and story times. Portrait Gallery Kids is a fun way to engage with art and each other.
Join us for a multisensory gallery talk designed primarily for visitors who are blind or have low vision and for their sighted companions. This 60-minute, multisensory program uses descriptive, evocative language to bring to life iconic portraits in the museum’s popular America's Presidents gallery, including Gilbert Stuart’s “Lansdowne” portrait of George Washington. Participants will also explore 3D tactile reproductions of the historic Abraham Lincoln life masks.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company (DTSBDC) triumphantly returns to the National Portrait Gallery with three visually arresting dances that celebrate iconic American artists Ruth Asawa, Isamu Noguchi and Helen Frankenthaler. The acclaimed dance company presents the world premiere of “Light Against the Earth,” a National Portrait Gallery commission and a tribute to sculptor Isamu Noguchi. DTSBDC will also perform “Drawing in Space,” an exploration of the world of sculptor Ruth Asawa, and “Sudden Snow” (2025), a dance inspired by abstract expressionist Helen Frankenthaler, whose canvasses were influenced by Asian calligraphy. All three dances are collaborations between Burgess and DTSBDC Associate Director Felipe Moltedo. This performance was made possible through the generous support of Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. and Sandra Oleksy Ocampo.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Children and families are invited to learn, play and create at the Portrait Gallery! Join educators every Monday as we explore a variety of topics and artistic materials. Participants will get a closer look at art with hands-on activities, music and story times. Portrait Gallery Kids is a fun way to engage with art and each other.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Join us for a sketching session in our galleries! Create, connect and sketch with fellow artists while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collection. Open to all skill levels, ages 18 and up. All materials will be provided. Participants are also welcome to bring their own sketchbook.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Slow down, unwind, and take a break from doomscrolling with a screen-free night of creativity and community at the Portrait Gallery. Bring your favorite analog hobby and enjoy the peaceful ambiance of the Kogod Courtyard. Need inspiration? Think needlepoint, knitting, sketching, watercolor, junk journaling, mahjong, and more. Each Analog Night will feature a spotlight activity inspired by the Portrait Gallery’s collection. Come solo or with friends! For ages 18+.
Join the National Portrait Gallery for free Spanish language tours. Experience iconic art and learn from expert guides about the faces and stories that shaped the nation. Perfect for fluent speakers and language learners alike. The Portrait Gallery strives to provide programs that are accessible to all visitors. If you have any questions about the accessibility of this program, or require sign language interpretation or any other accommodations, please contact us.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Portrait Signs is a Deaf-led tour in American Sign Language that explores a variety of topics related to portraiture, history and biography, focusing on works from the museum’s special exhibitions and permanent collection
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Hebras y Vejigantes shows the tradition of vejigante mask carving from the Puerto Rican town of Loíza, which has a large population of descendants of free Black people and maroons who escaped enslavement during the Spanish colonial era. Against a soundtrack of flutes and bomba drumming, 13 individuals dressed in kente cloth and African wax prints stand tall while expressing themselves in ways that honor their Afro-Caribbean heritage, from braiding hair and spinning records to reading and dancing. Each activity takes place as Antonetty-Lebrón recites an ode to Black hair and Vizcaíno carves masks for the individuals in the video.
Join the National Portrait Gallery for free Spanish language tours. Experience iconic art and learn from expert guides about the faces and stories that shaped the nation. Perfect for fluent speakers and language learners alike. The Portrait Gallery strives to provide programs that are accessible to all visitors. If you have any questions about the accessibility of this program, or require sign language interpretation or any other accommodations, please contact us.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Children and families are invited to learn, play and create at the Portrait Gallery! Join educators every Monday as we explore a variety of topics and artistic materials. Participants will get a closer look at art with hands-on activities, music and story times. Portrait Gallery Kids is a fun way to engage with art and each other.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the nation, curator Robyn Asleson will discuss two additions to the museum’s “Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900” exhibition: a freshly conserved diorama depicting the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and a new Revolutionary War–era gallery titled “Independence: 1770–1783.”
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Children and families are invited to learn, play and create at the Portrait Gallery! Join educators every Monday as we explore a variety of topics and artistic materials. Participants will get a closer look at art with hands-on activities, music and story times. Portrait Gallery Kids is a fun way to engage with art and each other.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Join the Portrait Gallery and Reading Rhythms for a reading party designed to make it easy for people to gather and read socially. We invite folks to bring any book they want while we facilitate silent reading periods, one-on-one breakouts, and group discussions about the art that everyone is engaging with. This adult program unites a community of readers to learn together and experience art with curated music.
Join the National Portrait Gallery for free Spanish language tours. Experience iconic art and learn from expert guides about the faces and stories that shaped the nation. Perfect for fluent speakers and language learners alike. The Portrait Gallery strives to provide programs that are accessible to all visitors. If you have any questions about the accessibility of this program, or require sign language interpretation or any other accommodations, please contact us.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Join us for an artist talk with 2025 Outwin Portrait Competition finalist Rupy Tut. This talk will focus on the painting Portrait of a Woman. Trained in eighteenth-century traditional Indian painting, the artist grinds her own pigments, burnishes paper and uses handmade brushes. Tut’s labor-intensive practice is on display with each delicately painted leaf, eye, or whirlpool.
Portrait Gallery · Portrait Gallery
Children and families are invited to learn, play and create at the Portrait Gallery! Join educators every Monday as we explore a variety of topics and artistic materials. Participants will get a closer look at art with hands-on activities, music and story times. Portrait Gallery Kids is a fun way to engage with art and each other.