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National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC

4.8

#6 of 67 in Museums in Washington DC

Art Museum History Museum

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Part of the Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery displays portraits of famous Americans. The gallery began with Charles Willson Peale's private collection of portraits, formerly called American Pantheon or Peale's Collection of Portraits of American Patriots. Since the gallery's inception in the 1960s, the collection has grown exponentially with acquisitions from around the world and a triennial portrait competition. Be sure to visit the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard, an architectural marvel with a glass roof. Make National Portrait Gallery a part of your Washington DC vacation plans using our Washington DC trip itinerary planner.

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National Portrait Gallery Reviews

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TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

3,492 reviews

Google

4.8

facebook

4.7

50 likes

• By SKB627

  Another free museum--you have to go if you're in the area! I made a plan beforehand because I knew I'd be overwhelmed. I looked at the list of portraits on the website and made a note of which rooms.....  more »

• By jennybap

  A great place to help kids visualize who they learned about in history classes. Terrific trip for home schoolers too. Really neat gallery in a gorgeous building. One of the many free attractions in....  more »

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Google

• By Ameen Karim

  Obviously you cannot rate this place anything less than a full 5 stars. It's a beautiful, welcoming, and inspiring museum. The portrait gallery section was awesome and the suffragette display they had open is great to inspire students and women all around the country to fight for equal rights. Of course, the presidential portrait are the best. President Obama, Clinton and Kennedy's are the best. 10/10 would go again.

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• By McKenzie Carter

  Beautiful building and loved the exhibit of the presidential portraits. Thoroughly enjoyed myself. Free admission and beautiful art. Located near Capital One arena in Chinatown. Plenty of restaurants and other attractions to pair with a visit. Probably my third favorite museum in DC (Natural History and Spy Museum).

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