Mission

Established in 1941, the National Gallery of Art (NGA) serves the United States of America in a national role by preserving, collecting, exhibiting, and fostering the understanding of works of art, at the highest possible museum and scholarly standards. The NGA's principal duty is to keep its collections intact for future generations and to pass these on in optimum condition. The Gallery limits its active art collecting to paintings, sculpture, and works of art on paper, from the late middle ages to the present, from Europe and the United States. The Gallery's collections are on view in Washington and by loan elsewhere. The NGA also borrows works of art for exhibition in Washington.