Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery Review

What a beautiful place to see. Plan on spending countless hours in order to catch a glimpse at everything. You can easily get lost in one single exhibit.

Fantastic! Beautiful American decorative arts and paintings of America's movers and shakers.

Walking through and seeing the Presidential portraits is such a great experience, but the modern art installations make you stretch your brain.

Excellent gallery. Some great work, especially the presidential collection.

This is worth the trip if in DC. Free admission and powerful images of America

This is a big museum that has so much more than just portraits. The upper floors are rarely visited and you can even watch restorative work. Kids area has places to draw, building faces from blocks, story time, and a photo booth area. The atrium is my favorite part and the floor has water areas kids can run through if they want.

Utterly boring Smithsonian institution, avoid unless everything else is already closed and you need something to do to wait for traffic to subside.

It's a different dimension alltogether. Explore both the floors and strike a chat with the conservationists on the 2nd floor. So much to learn , that every visit is a plan fir the next one.

Looking at our Country's history is one of the best parts of my day in our Nations Capital. If you have a short vacation time, spend it here. You can't go wrong.

Superb. We returned again and still didn't see it all. A great institution.

Always great to visit the Smithsonian. I didn't know they did restoration demonstrations so I'm hoping to get back during the week when it's open but it was cool to see the difference in their before/after displays.

Loved the Obama portrait. People waited in line patiently to take a photo standing next to it. There's lots more to see and you should take at least two days to tour the museum. Than you'll have an opportunity to really reflect on the pieces and truly appreciate the experience.

The Nation Portrait Gallery is a wonderful museum to visit. A must-see is the Third Floor which houses all of the Presidential Portraits. Among the most popular are Barack Obama, John F Kennedy and George Washington.

What a beautiful museum to go to for an afternoon. Definitely except to spend sometime checking out the artwork. Loved spending time here. Just don t take a big bag with you,you ll need to put it in a pay locker. Free coat room too!!!

Nice place to just stop by and enjoy the terrace. Beautiful colection of art

VISIT ALL SMITHSONIAN EXHIBITS WHILST IN THE DC, Bois.

The collection in this building is quite extensive. It looks very unassuming from the outside but it is well done. The layout doesn't feel cramped at all and the atrium in the middle of the building is beautiful

Stopped by to visit the cafe and study. Food was quite pricy but the courtyard is really superior. The curved roof and greeny make you feel like you are in a bubble of spring just before the first blooms.

Always something new to see be and a good way to spend a couple of hours in an afternoon. We were visiting D.C. after living in the area for 16 years and the Portrait Gallery was on our 'must revisit' list. Glad we went!

Astoundingly beautiful. Wonderful gallery with iconic pieces. Not only portraits, but landscapes and abstract pieces too. Be sure to check it out if you're nearby.

This is a really interesting way to look big swathes of American history.

Beautiful art and very friendly staff. We had a great time.

Amazing experience celebrating Day of the Dead in The National Gallery.

This place is amazing. Huge galleries, wide variety in the collections, always changing so it's an easy choice to go back a couple time a year.

Best free museum ever! Super interesting paragraphs about each historical figure beside the portraits, read them :)

Everyone should visit! Such a vast an interesting collection. Be sure to stop by and check out the portraits of Barack & Michelle Obama.

Really a cool building, the courtyard is really beautiful! Honestly I'm not much of an art person but there were some really interesting and thought-provoking displays. Not as well known as some of the other museums in DC, but definitely worth the short trip off the mall! (Plus it's open later than the other museums)

One of the coolest museums in the area. Beautiful architecture, constant interesting exhibits and beautiful works in here. A great place for people of all ages, whether a native to DC or a tourist!

Fun place to visit. Kids enjoyed the Presidential Gallery.

There is so much to see.
Even if you do not know about art and painting, you can enjoy it comfortably.

ACLU picked a great spot for the final dance this year! Wonderful Gallery. Truly iconic pieces.

Open late til 7 pm, while all museums on the mall close at 5:30 pm.

Really enjoyed the collection of Presidential portraits. Also have an excellent representation of US history. Then a John Mix Stanley on top of it all!!!

Awesome museum with great examples of American classic art. Portraits oriented around the subjects rather than the artists, which provides a nice historical perspective to the narrative. Free so you can take it in small bites if you're local. Beautiful indoor courtyard with cafe with a peaceful environment.

Not only because im working here during the pandemic but parts of the building I've never got to see before when i worked here i appreciate even more that i get to see them now while im patrolling the building. All of the Smithsonian buildings as a whole are wonderful.

It is a good place to learn about American history through arts. They do have other exhibits but I would recommend the civil war section and the president portraits.

The portraits of Obama, Clinton, and JFK are must-sees for art lovers. They stand out from the other portraits. There is usually a line in front of the Obama's portrait but it moves pretty quickly.

I love this museum as much for the wonderful renovations as for the art. Don't miss the huge domed courtyard.

Fantastic in every way! Art and architecture a must see!

The Portrait Gallery is the genius unsung hero of the Smithsonians. It has the latest hours (7pm!!), the best study/work space, and a collection that spans classic Americana and also has dared to showcase urgent modern works. I ve enjoyed many of their special exhibitions, most especially the joyous Norman Rockwell collection (from Lucas/Spielberg!) and the AIDS artworks expo, which famously included an exiled religious work displayed in a mobile home outside the building.

Even my toddlers enjoyed this experience. Loved all of it.

Will wow and amaze you your first, second and third time. Plenty to see and learn!

The portrait gallery was not only beautiful because of the portraits but also because of the other kinds of art. We were planning to just jet through and see the Obamas but there is so much more to see. They have what looked like a beautiful section of busts but we we're in far too much of a rush to see them. They also had a really cool modern art section. In my opinion their modern art section is better than the national art museum's. Really wish I could've stayed and saw more.

Great at place. Great portraits of Barack and Michelle

Magnificent portraits of past presidents, Americans with major accomplishments and stunning American Indian portraits makes this one of my favorites of the Smithsonian museums. See Barack and Michelle Obama's portraits now on display.

Would you believe that this museum is filled with portraits?

This place is exceedingly boring, it s only redeeming feature is its collection of Presidential portraits.

If you like pictures of mostly older white men, this is the place for you.

I would imagine most people have a better use of their time.

It was amazing checking out that different portraits my favorite portraits were does of Barrack & Michelle Obama priceless

Brilliant collection of art and well protected too. But difficult to traverse with little children.

It was great to see the presidential portraits! Quick enough for a half hour visit or you can spend a good few hours. Highly recommend.

Beautiful works displayed with lots of space to take it all in. However, I do question and wonder about some of the descriptions next to the presidential portraits. Highly suggest the gallery keep to facts, like X President resigned or Y President was impeached, and not conjecture or anecdotes about how "popular" a president was or wasn't.

Always a pleasure to visit the Gallery with it's changing exhibits.

Outstanding gallery with a diverse selection of art work. The building itself is a wonder to explore- ornate hallways, floor mosaics, black and white tile, the Kogod Courtyard (with frequent free performances), multiple level tiers, floor-to-ceiling columns, and more. Nam June Paik's 'Electronic Superhighway' is a must-see. Scrap the typical everyone-must-leave-this-museum-at-5pm. National Portrait Gallery is open until 7pm. Great place to bring family and friends, as well as to enjoy some art in solitude.

So easy and to drop in and take a visual tour of
Our US Presidents, Civil Rights leaders, contemporary artists and athletes and the diverse array of artists that depict them. Center courtyard is lovely for a rest and people watching, FREE!

Wonderful building, chock fill of lovely art, including intricate stained glass that I noticed for the first time on my last visit.

Love the pieces. Obama's portrait was incredible. Staff was very helpful

I tire of museums pretty quickly, but this was a good one. Be sure to go to the top (3rd) floor.

I love this museum. I has some really great pieces. You could be here for a couple of hours and not fully see the whole museum. I recommend give yourself a good 3-4hours to look at all the exhibits, I definitely will next time.

The Hall of the Presidents is perhaps the best exhibit in the Gallery. It is on the second floor and where President Obama's portrait is!

Talk about national treasure! This place is great. The portrait of all the women serving on the Supreme Court is amazing to behold. The presidential portrait gallery is really something too. JFK's portrait has such a unique style and it was so interesting to learn why the artist chose to paint him that way (I won't tell you, go see for yourself). I mean, it was really interesting to see why the artists of all the presidential portraits chose to paint their subjects the way they did. I wish this extended to others hanging in the galleries. Michelle Obama's portrait would have benefited from such a description. There is much more to see than just portraits though. There are all sorts of little side rooms with paintings and objects that are definitely worth seeing. Also, I beg of you, if you go to the National Portrait Gallery, make sure you see Abraham Lincoln's portrait. You will not be disappointed!

My favorite place to come. Ppl watch. Coffee and work or come see the orchids during the exhibit!!!

A wonderful gallery, especially for appreciating the Nation's heritage. Worth a visit for the portraits of former presidents alone, other works being a bonus.

Great collection of arts and paintings before modern society.