Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art

Have you seen our famed Peacock Room? It may have looked very different if James McNeill Whistler had managed to finish a larger version of this painting. "The Three Girls,” as seen in the first photo, is the closest surviving work to the composition that British businessman Frederick Leyland hoped would grace the south wall of his dining room, now known as the Peacock Room. Whistler, who was commissioned to remodel the room, agonized over the work for nearly a decade as Leyland patiently underwrote its production. This study features three women whose bodies echo one another in their elongated curves. He arranges the figures among conservatory plants picked out in dashes of red, pink, and green. The horizontal composition and shallow depth of field suggest both inspiration from East Asia as well as a Greco-Roman frieze. Whistler never finished “The Three Girls.” In its place, he left Leyland with the mural “Art and Money; or The Story of the Room” as a lasting tribute to the pair’s bitter feud, as seen in the second photo, as it lives in our museum today. Learn more about the tangled history of Whistler and Leyland in “Ruffled Feathers: Creating Whistler’s Peacock Room,” now on view in Gallery 11. https://lnkd.in/g3J7rqhz Part of our #AmericanArt collection. #SmithsonianAsianArt Image: The White Symphony: Three Girls, James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), ca. 1868, United States, Oil on millboard mounted on wood panel, 46.4 x 61.6 cm (18 1/4 x 24 1/4 in), National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1902.138a-b

Did you notice the red color on Krishna’s arms in this painting? That’s how you know he recently celebrated #Holi, by throwing colored powder! See this larger-than-life painting for yourself in "Delighting Krishna: Paintings of the Child God," opening tomorrow, March 15: https://s.si.edu/3Dn7euQ Image: Kunj Ekadashi: The Festival of the Grove; Rajasthan state, Nathdwara, late 19th century, Opaque watercolor, tin, and gold on cotton, possibly handwoven, 213.3 x 157.5 cm, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Transfer from the National Museum of Natural History, Department of Anthropology, gift of Dr. Leo S. Figiel, S1992.68

Welcome spring at our Nowruz Family Day Sunday, March 16 with free attractions for all ages, including storytelling, hands-on activities, and more! https://s.si.edu/41WNuYh

Calling all #scholars! The Anne van Biema #Fellowship promotes excellence in research and publication on #JapaneseArt. Apply here: https://s.si.edu/3Tfolnx #SmithsonianAsianArt

Explore the 500-year history of the Pushtimarg tradition and how it came to the U.S. when Hinduism became a global religion in the 20th century: https://s.si.edu/4iEjuFZ #SmithsonianAsianArt

Creating professional opportunities for women. Japanese artist Yoshida Chizuko was known for her abstract woodblock prints and advocacy of women artists. “What is within No. 2” was shown at the sixth exhibition of the Joryū Hanga Kyokai (Women’s Print Association), a women’s printmaking group she co-founded with several other women printmakers. Yoshida made this and many other works while raising two small children. The title of this print may allude to her inner desire to immerse herself in printmaking even as she balanced home responsibilities. We can imagine that artmaking was a way to express other parts of herself that were not satisfied by her roles in the household. The bold orange pigments, passionate calligraphic-like lines, and splatter of blue pigment express Yoshida’s dynamic and innovative approach. #InternationalWomensDay Get to know Yoshida and other members of “The Print Generation” before it closes April 27, 2025. See full details here: https://s.si.edu/3CR1HMS To learn more about Yoshida’s prints, visit our online interactive “Bubbles 泡” https://s.si.edu/3CP3phP Image: Yoshida Chizuko 吉田千鶴子 (1924-2017), What is within No. 2 内なるもの, Japan, Shōwa era, 1961, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, 78.7 × 91.4 cm (31 × 36 in), National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Purchase and partial gift of the Kenneth and Kiyo Hitch Collection from Kiyo Hitch with funds from the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment, S2019.3.2019

Immerse yourself in two documentaries we're screening as part of the DC Environmental Film Festival, dedicated to inspiring positive and lasting change for our planet, such as "The Cats of Gokogu Shrine!" Get free passes here: https://s.si.edu/43mKc1E Trailer courtesy of Asian Shadows

Women have contributed to our museum from its very start! #SmithsonianWHM Journalist, activist, and collector Agnes E. Meyer administered the Freer Gallery of Art when it opened, and she donated a large collection of Chinese and Japanese works, including the Standing Bodhisattva in the first photo. This bodhisattva was made for a Buddhist cave temple at the Chinese site of Xiangtangshan, where it appeared with the monumental reliefs that are now displayed with it, as seen in the second photo. Experience these as Agnes once did in “Promise of Paradise,” now on view in gallery 17. https://s.si.edu/4ki4Ndm Images: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ds-04680 Standing Bodhisattva, 550-577, southern Xiangtangshan, Cave 2, Hebei province, China, Limestone with traces of pigment, 172.5 x 51.8 x 42.9 cm (67 15/16 x 20 3/8 x 16 7/8 in), National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer F1968.45 #SmithsonianWomensHistory #WomensHistoryMonth

#RamadanMubarak! Ramadan starts today, the holiest month of the Islamic calendar, and a time of prayer, meditation, and introspection for Muslims. Ramadan also marks the beginning of the revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad in 610 CE. As an act of commemoration, the Holy Book is read out loud throughout the month at nighttime. To ensure that a thirtieth of the Qur’an is read on each night of Ramadan, it is divided into 30 parts of equal length (juz in Arabic). The volume presented here is the eighteenth juz. The copy belonged to a set whose style of calligraphy and fine illuminations point to a creation of Mamluk Egypt during the 15th century. Probably endowed to a religious institution, it was kept inside a box or on separate shelves in the prayer room. Each volume would be taken out and placed on a Qur’an stand in front of the reader on special occasions, like during the nights of #Ramadan. Images: Section of the Qur’an, Egypt, Cairo, Mamluk period, probably 15th century. Ink, color, and gold on paper. National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art Collection. Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1938.19.

Our limited-edition #CherryBlossom merch drop is back! Get ready for spring with fashion, accessories, and home décor inspired by our own collection of Japanese art and cherry blossoms: https://s.si.edu/3PTFnoo