From private art collections to tucked-away gardens, wander the halls of these hidden gems.
Washington DC is paradise formuseum lovers . After all , the capital is home to a staggering seventeen Smithsonian Institutions alone , which are fill up with artwork and historic artifacts , all forfree . We ’re pretty prosperous to live here , are we not ? But what many people — both visitor and longtime Washingtonians — might overlook , is that in summation to the cathedrals of nontextual matter line theNational Mall , the city is teeming with alone smaller museum pucker away in subdued neighborhoods and on university campuses . From nineteenth - century paintings to modern-day sculpture and artefact spanning grand of age of public chronicle , here are 10 of the DC ’s smaller must - visit museums to search .
The Folger Shakespeare Library
Capitol Hill , FreeAfter a multi - year closure for a top - to - bottom , $ 80.5 million overhaul , the Folger Shakespeare Library is back on the city ’s museum scene . The watershed ethnical institution , which first open up in 1932 , is home to the largest collection of Shakespeare ’s printed works in the world , as well as other rare materials and literary artifact . Two newfangled exposition Hall allow you to get up close and personal with the artifacts include all 82 of the Folger ’s original page number , as well as playbill and broadsides from historic production . Other non - Shakespeare works let in a first C BCE EgyptianBook of the Dead , an advanced press transcript of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ’s “ I Have a Dream ” speech , and page proofs ofThe Lord of the Ringswith hand - write correction by author J.R.R. Tolkien bring sum intrigue to the unequalled collection .
The Phillips Collection
Dupont Circle , $ 20 and pay - what - you - wish from 4 pm to closingWhen the Phillips Collection first open up back in 1917 , it was the first museum in the United States devoted only to modern art . And it wasn’tjusta museum — at the time of its innovation it was part of the private abode of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips who open a portion of their Dupont Circle mansion to paying artistry fancier eager to see their collection ( and maybe their home , too ) . The Phillips were extremely influential aggregator at that , and the piece they pile up in the 1920s are considered some of the most significant work of European painting . Today , the museum continues to be a must - chatter , and the internal outer space is dwelling house to a much - loved Rothko elbow room , a modest room constructed entirely of beeswax , as well as landmark works from grave hitters like Degas , Van Gogh , and Cézanne . It ’s also home to a renownedconcert seriesthat sells out almost instantaneously . The museum continues to counterfeit Modern earth today and the much - exalt current exhibition , numerousness : Blackness in Contemporary American Collage , is on purview through September 22 .
Dumbarton Oaks
Georgetown , Free ( $ 11 garden admission charge during peak season)Dumbarton Oaks is an oasis in the city . The 53 - acre prop and Harvard University - operated research institute , museum , and library is situate at the highest point in Georgetown and boasts grounds and position desirable of a day ’s wander . inwardly , the dwelling house - change by reversal - museum shoot a line a rich aggregation of Byzantine and pre - Columbian art and artifacts , which were collected by Robert and Mildred Bliss , diplomats and philanthropist who bequeathed their landed estate to Harvard in the 1940s . Today , this spot is one of the urban center ’s foundation little museums and we loved that it ’s so tuck away in Georgetown , you might not even know it ’s there . Perhaps more noted than its collection of art , is itsmusic roomwhich in 1937 was the site of a world premiere of Igor Stravinsky’sDumbarton Oaks Concerto . Make time for the historic garden which are meticulously cultivated to feature anthesis Tree and plants throughout the yr . While the museum is free , visiting the garden during efflorescence time of year ( March 15 to October 31 ) requires an $ 11 ticket .
The Kreeger Museum
Berkeley,$15 and progress enrollment is suggestedHead to a well - heeled section of the city for one of DC ’s museum gems . Located in a mid - hundred masterpiece of a firm , the Kreeger is a petite museum that packs a punch . Constructed in 1963 by illustrious architects Philip Johnson and Richard Foster , the structure was created as a private household for David and Carmen Kreeger , fixtures in the local political and societal scene as well as consummate artistic creation gatherer . The Kreegers curated a collection of 19th- and 20th - hundred paintings of stalwarts like Pablo Picasso and Alexander Calder . swan through this institution has the opinion of walking through someone ’s secret home ( albeit a mansion ) with invaluable art at your fingertip . European house painting are displayed alongside West African masque and the reason of the place — all five landed estate — serve as an eclectic sculpture garden . The museum regularly host a variety of classes and workshops from painting to yoga , so find out the calendar for upcoming dates .
Art Museum of the Americas
The National Mall , Free but donations are encouragedJust off the National Mall , in a construction that count like it could grace the street of Cartagena or Mexico City , is the Art Museum of the Americas . This compact museum is devoted to showcasing contemporary works from Romance American and Caribbean artist and is run by the Organization of American States . The museum itself was once the secret home of the president of the OAS and today houses nearly 2,000 piece of music of artistic production , many of which were instrumental in sling the careers of Latin American and Caribbean artists in the United States . Their exhibition are an awe-inspiring way to instruct about artists you may not already be aware of . You wo n’t need to miss their current show of works by Juan Roberto Diago , a lead member of the raw Afro - Cuban cultural movement .
Rubell Museum
Southwest Waterfront,$15 and free for DC resident and veterans ( pay - what you - wish on Wednesdays , Thursdays , and Fridays)As one of the city’snewest museums , the Rubell showcases bold , modern , and contemporary works from the private collection of Don and Mera Rubell , a couple who began compile art in the 1960s . Since then , their collection has grow to more than 7,000 piece by about 1,000 artists . It also traces how creative person have responded to their several political and social movement from the AIDS crisis , climate activism , and Black Lives Matter . Previously a school , the museum has been extensively renovated into 32,000 straight foundation of light - filled gallery for shows likeSingular View , which foreground 25 contemporary creative person including hometown names like John Waters , Patricia Ayres , February James , and Simphiwe Ndzube .
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Downtown , $ 16 and $ 13 for DC residents(free on the first Sunday and second Wednesday of each month)After a multi - twelvemonth renovation , the National Museum of Women in the Artsreopened in 2023with a top - to - bottom refresh of its 1908 Classical Revival building . Highlights of the reimagined museum include a new curatorial visual modality , expanded gallery outer space , and a reaffirmed commitment to assert and advocating for the character of women and nonbinary artists . When it earlier opened in 1987 , the museum was the first in the macrocosm solely dedicated to share the workplace of woman in the arts . And to this twenty-four hours , it continue to hold gender and equity in the arts as essential to its work with a collection of more than 6,000 piece spanning from seventeenth C nontextual matter to contemporary works . Remix , the museum ’s core permanent collection , go around periodically with a strong consideration for overlooked creative person throughout history . The museum ’s event calendar is one to watch , with innovative program like a transcribe effect to digitize letters of Frida Kahlo ( the event sold out instantly ) to gallery nights .
Planet Word
business district , Free but sophisticated reservations are requiredPossibly the most fun museum in the city , you unquestionably do not have to be a shaver to experience some of the tiddler - like joy Planet word inhale . Similarly to the Rubell Museum , Planet Word is also located in one of DC ’s former public - school day construction , and this one is quite a wondrous brick complex body part in the middle of downtown DC . Today the construction — which was construct in 1869 as the Franklin School — has a like training commission as its original purpose . Planet Word ’s three floors are devote to the wonderment of language and how we communicate and interact with the mankind and each other . extremely synergistic , the quad makes utilization of clever technology and artistry to instruct how language has evolved , the dissimilar language distinguishers exploit around the macrocosm , and the power of spoken language in storytelling and in our shared humanity . A merriment language - themed gift shop class , as well as an on - siteImmigrant Food , are both must - stop after checking out the exhibits .
The George Washington University Museum & The Textile Museum
Foggy Bottom , $ 8 suggested donationTucked away on the campus of George Washington University , this pair of museum might make you want to be a student again . The Textile Museum has what is considered to be one of the domain ’s dear collections of fabric , arras , and rug , with artifacts that sweep a time catamenia of more than 5,000 class . In sum , the museum has more than 21,000 object with highlights including Native American weaving from 900 BCE , 19th - century Japanese kimonos , and 15h - century Egyptian carpets . The museum ’s bewitching and colorfully rich exhibition , Irresistible : The Global Patterns of Ikatis on panorama through December 21 . In the same composite , you ’ll find the GWU Museum with a assembling of artifacts tracing DC ’s history from compound day to the nowadays .
Capital Jewish Museum
Penn Quarter , Free ( special exhibitions are ticketed)As another of DC ’s newest museum , the Capital Jewish Museum open its doors in 2023 , nearly 150 days after the historical event on June 9 , 1876 , when Ulysses S. Grant became the first president to wait on synagogue services . The museum explores the Jewish experience throughout DC ’s history and tells the story of Jewish citizenry who were influential in forge the Das Kapital , from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to a Confederate undercover agent , and many masses in between through interactive storytelling and more than 24,000 picture and 1,000 objects . Their delightful showing , I’ll Have What She ’s make : The Judaic Deliis not to be miss and unravel through September 1 .
Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum
Penn Quarter , $ 9.50In the hustle and ado of DC ’s Penn Quarter is a small storefront with a big history . Right on 7th Street , between José Andrés restaurant , are the rooms where Clara Barton — the father of the American Red Cross — lived and worked . It was here that Barton set up up shop after the Civil War , taking on the immense task of providing service to track down missing Union soldier . President Abraham Lincoln himself gave Barton his blessing to set up the office and it was here , on the third trading floor of a embarkation planetary house , that Barton worked tirelessly with a squad of clerks to compile list of escape soldier that were write day by day in newspapers around the country . In 1996 , the building was slate for demolition but saved last - minute after the dramatic discovery of over a thousand important letters and documents in the dome . Today it ’s one of three buildings that make up the National Museum of Civil War Medicine ( the other two are in Maryland ) .
Photo courtesy of Dumbarton Oaks
Photo by Lloyd Wolf
The Phillips Collection|Photo credit: Mariah Miranda, photo courtesy of The Phillips Collection Institutional Images
“A Refusal to Accept Limits” by John Miller|Photo courtesy of The Rubell Museum
Planet Word|Photo Credit: DuHon Photography, photo courtesy of Planet Word
