An art aficionado I am not. So I was not expecting much when I entered this newly renovated museum. I mainly came to see the presidential portraits for myself and to infuse a sense of presidential history into my middle school aged son. But were we surprised. What a great museum! I wished I had spent more time to read... more

My D.C.-dwelling nephews rated this one of their favorite places and now I agree. I actually visited this museum twice and then used it as a meeting point for a third. The three floors are filled with fascinating exhibits and you come to appreciate the job the curators did in making this fresh and relevant. Because they have taken the... more

Truthfully, I thought I'd be bored. Once there I found several paintings that made the visit worthwhile. Additionally, the building was beautiful and I enjoyed trying to imagine what it must have looked like when it was the patent office...were offices nestled between the large columns? The gallery was also a pleasant respite from the noisy overcrowded museums on the... more

This is an amazing gallery. There are pictures of all of the Presidents upstairs. I highly recommend it. Take the Metro to the China town area and walk the few blocks more

When we knew we were coming to DC, we wanted to visit the Smithsonian Museums. With the time that we had, we could only do 4 museums and the National Portrait Gallery/ American Art Museum ( They're in one building) was our favorite. They have really nice paintings and photographies. Informations on each item were easy to understand. The museum... more

Our visit to the Portrait Gallery was one of the highlights of our trip to DC! I only wish I would have known how much was in it. We had to cut our visit here short because we had not planned to spend so much time here. more

This is far and away the most interesting art museum, even for those who are not usually into art. Personally, I'm not all that into art (especially not that "abstract" stuff where they splash paint onto a canvas and call it art), but this place keeps me coming back. There are themed collections that tell stories, historic collections of important... more

The American Museum of Art/National Portrait Gallery share the same wonderful old Patent Office Building and recently reopened after many years of renovations. The building itself is magnificent and the art work and portrait should not be missed. The building is north of the mall, but only a few blocks walk (or bus or Metro ride) north up 7th Street.... more