National Museum of Women in the Arts
The world's first museum built entirely around women artists — because in the 1960s, the definitive art history texts named not a single one.
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Over 6,000 works by 1,000-plus artists span the 16th century to today, all assembled to correct a gap the founders discovered when no art history book could tell them anything about Flemish painter Clara Peeters. D.C.'s only Frida Kahlo lives here. The building is a former Masonic Temple, freshly reopened after a $66 million renovation in October 2023.
What to look for
- Frida Kahlo's Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky — the only Kahlo painting in Washington, D.C.
- Works by Amy Sherald and Alma Woodsey Thomas, representing the museum's contemporary reach
- The Masonic Temple building itself, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and reopened October 21, 2023 after a $66 million overhaul
Reopened October 21, 2023; check current hours and admission before visiting as post-renovation schedules may vary.
National Museum of Women in the Arts is one of 37 sights worth the detour in Washington, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Washington pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Washington
- White HouseBritish forces torched it in 1814. It has been the U.S. president's home and office ever since.
- The PentagonDesigned and built in 16 months during World War II — 17.5 miles of corridors, a five-acre central courtyard, and a 9/11 memorial at the exact point of impact.
- United States CapitolEvery street address in Washington DC radiates outward from this building — it is literally the zero point of the city.
- Washington MonumentThe faint color seam partway up the shaft marks where construction stopped for 23 years.
- Smithsonian InstitutionBritish scientist James Smithson left a bequest that became 157 million objects, 21 museums, and a zoo — almost all free to walk into.
- Arlington National CemeteryThe ground holding 400,000 graves was seized from Robert E. Lee's own family over an unpaid tax bill in 1864.