National Portrait Gallery

National Portrait Gallery in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture

Currently the National Portrait Gallery is closed to the public. The National Historic Landmark Building that houses the National Portrait Gallery and its sister institution, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, is currently undergoing an extensive renovation. When the building re-opens in July 2006, it will be a dazzling showcase for American art and portraiture that celebrates the vision and creativity of Americans.

"Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portraits"

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The Smithsonian's International Gallery will host the exhibition "Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portraits," a groundbreaking exhibition exploring Latin American art and history through portraits. "Retratos," comprises approximately 115 paintings and sculpture culled from the holdings of leading museums across Latin America, Europe, and the United States, as well as from private collections.

"Retratos" is organized by the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; the San Antonio Museum of Art; and El Museo del Barrio in New York City.

Exhibition tours

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The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2006

While the National Portrait Gallery’s inaugural Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition is now closed to new submissions, it has accepted more than 4,000 entries. The competition will culminate in a grand exhibition of approximately 50 – 60 finalists to coincide with the Patent Office Building re-opening in July 2006.

The first prize will be $25,000, which includes a commission to create a portrait of a prominent living American for the Gallery’s permanent collection. Other cash prizes will be awarded to selected works.

For more information on the competition visit:

Portrait Competition website

Sneak Peek
Planned installations fo the reopening in 2006!

Each year a gallery within the museum, aptly named "One Life," will be devoted to an NPG curator’s exploration of the life of an individual. The inaugural exhibition in this series is titled "Walt Whitman, a kosmos." David Ward, Gallery historian and himself a poet, selected Whitman because he "influenced a century of America’s foremost writers." The exhibition reflects Whitman’s own themes of the American common man and will include images and personal memorabilia of Whitman, coupled with the poet’s words, to create a multifaceted portrait of a remarkable American.

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