The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art will open a new exhibition titled "A Museum in the Making" on June 27, 2026, running through August 8, 2027. The show explores the origin story of the Freer Gallery of Art, America's first national art museum, by examining how collector Charles Lang Freer used his Detroit home as a living laboratory for museum design. It highlights collaborations with artists and architects, including James McNeill Whistler, Stanford White, and Mary Chase Perry Stratton, and features a video walkthrough of the Freer House. The exhibition is part of the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations and the Smithsonian's broader "Our Shared Future" initiative.
The exhibition matters because it reveals the innovative, collaborative process behind the founding of the first national art museum in the U.S., emphasizing Freer's vision of using Asian and American art to foster intercultural exchange. By showcasing the Freer House as a blueprint for the museum's intimate galleries and design principles, the show connects Detroit's architectural heritage to the National Mall. It also demonstrates how museums can use digital tools—like a 3D scan of the Peacock Room and a forthcoming virtual reality project—to expand public access and preserve history for future generations.