Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sc. Garden

Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Committed to providing the artists of today a national platform to explore new ways to create, with performance, digital media, video, and technology.

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is the Smithsonian museum known for housing international modern and contemporary art within the celebrated, and highly recognizable, cylindrical Gordon Bunshaft building in D.C. It was first established here in 1974, now entering its fifth decade of artistic excellence.

This art museum and sculpture garden are considered to be the ‘leading voice for contemporary art and culture’, a well-known national platform for the art and artists of our time. On the grounds, you will find an adjoining plaza and sunken sculpture garden, as well, with more than sixty works of art displayed year-round. The sculptures you will see are done by well-known artists ranging from Auguste Rodin to Yoko Ono.

Inside Hirshhorn you will see an impressively in-depth collection of postwar American and European art, some say one of the most important collections in the world! The exhibits are always rotating, with such past examples as Nicolas Party: sunrise, sunset, Markus Lüpertz: Threads of History, and Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors. Your group can take a self-guided tour of the museum and garden, or take a 45-minute guided group or school tour.

Before you go, grab a fresh pastry or cup of espresso at Dolcezza Coffee and Gelato on site, or perhaps pick up an artsy souvenir from the Museum Shop.

Fun Fact: One of the tables within Dolcezza is made from a 700-year-old Japanese nutmeg tree, can you spot which one?