Urgent Museum Notice

CHAMPION WOMEN THROUGH THE ARTS

View of the gallery shows an eye-catching marble sculpture in the foreground and a visitor looking at multiple brightly colored artworks in the background. The abstract scupture is of a voluptuous figure with pregnant belly covered in bright patterns and posed with outstretched arms. View of the gallery shows an eye-catching marble sculpture in the foreground and a visitor looking at multiple brightly colored artworks in the background. The abstract scupture is of a voluptuous figure with pregnant belly covered in bright patterns and posed with outstretched arms.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts.

  • Night view of city street shows a large sculpture made of eight half-tires arranged into stacked hourglass shapes. Engravings, gold leaf, and green light on the interior of the tires decorate the structure. Light trails from cars frame the sculpture on both sides.
  • Oblique view of gallery with a Baroque painting of the Madonna and Child in a gilded frame on magenta wall at right. In the distance, three more framed works hang on the same wall. Painting on the adjacent white wall is of a reclining figure with a bandage on chest.
  • Two young children with medium skin tone stand in front of a dog sculpture covered with green crochet panels. One child stands with hands on hips, eyes turned to look directly at the viewer, and gives a slight smirk. Adult visitors in the background look at the scene with amusement.

Visit Us

Located in the heart of Washington, D.C., the National Museum of Women in the Arts brings recognition to the achievements of women artists of all periods and nationalities.

Plan Your Visit

Notes for Today

The museum has reopened! Find information about our new policies.

Laure Tixier, Plaid Houses (Maquettes) (detail), 2005–11; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Les Amis du NMWA, Paris, France; © Laure Tixier; Photo by Cameron Robinson

Just 11% of all acquisitions at prominent American museums over the past decade were of work by women artists.

— Artnet News

What We Do

Our rotating special exhibitions showcase work by established and emerging women artists. Museum programs build strong, engaged local communities and foster conversations and connections that inspire change. Our collections feature more than 5,500 works from the 16th century to today created by more than 1,000 artists.

See What’s On

Photo credit: Kevin Allen

Related Quote

People in the art world want to think we are achieving parity more quickly than we are.”
Susan Fisher Sterling, The Alice West Director
Close-up photograph of a painted quilt shows a medium-dark skinned woman dancing exuberantly. There is a white flower in her hair, and she wears dangling gold earrings and gold loops around her neck.

Advocate for Women

Women artists have been marginalized for centuries. Gender bias is less overt today, but contemporary women artists still face many obstacles and disparities, as well as persistent underrepresentation in museum collections and exhibitions worldwide. Their historical precursors still deserve to have their stories told.

Take Action

Faith Ringgold, American Collection #4: Jo Baker’s Bananas (detail); Photo credit: Emily Haight, NMWA

Explore Things to Do @ NMWA

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    Time: 5:30 to 6:30 pm

  • Art Chat @ Five: Seeing Red

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  • Art Chat @ Five

    Date: Oct, 02
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  • The Tea: Tashera

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  • Free Community Day

    Date: Oct, 04
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  • Member Preview Day: Paper Routes—Women to Watch 2020

    Date: Oct, 07
    Time: 10 am to 5 pm

  • Art Chat @ Five

    Date: Oct, 09
    Time: 5 to 5:45 pm

  • BMA x NMWA Monthly Talk Show: Power

    Date: Oct, 13
    Time: 12 to 12:45 pm

  • Art Chat @ Five

    Date: Oct, 16
    Time: 5 to 5:45 pm
    • View Calendar

    Featured Blog Post

    Alma Woodsey Thomas: Hidden History

    Through collaborating with a research team from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), NMWA gained vivid new insight into beloved works by Washington, D.C., artistic icon Alma Woodsey Thomas (1891–1978).
    Abstract painting composed of brightly colored, lozenge-shaped brushstrokes in vertical stripes of navy, purple, turqouise, yellow, orange and red.The overall effect is as if the painting was collaged out of torn pieces of paper, with the white of the canvas showing through.
    Alma Woodsey Thomas, Iris, Tulips, Jonquils, and Crocuses (detail), 1969; Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 50 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; © Estate of Alma Woodsey Thomas; Photo credit: Cameron Robinson

    @WomenInTheArts