Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC
Opened in 1974 on the National Mall in Washington DC, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden features over 12,000 pieces of modern and contemporary art from the personal collection of Joseph Hirschhorn, an industrialist and philanthropist. The cynical shaped museum, designed by Gordon Bunshaft, has two floors of permanent and rotating exhibits that feature a wide variety of sculptures and postwar American and European artworks, as well as a large outdoor plaza and sunken sculpture garden. A member of the Smithsonian Institute, the museum is free to visit 364 days a year and is a family friendly museum that children (and adults!) will enjoy.
Travel Tips:
Exhibits the Whole Family Will Enjoy:
Level 3: Mark Bradford Pickett’s Charge is a series of eight mixed media canvases that stretch 400 feet around the circular walls. The canvases are layered with papers of various sizes and colors, inspired by Paul Philippoteaux’s 1883 cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg, which was also called Pickett’s Charge. Grab a Hirshhorn KIDS booklet for the exhibit which includes a scavenger hunt and various coloring and creative activities.
Level 3: OSGEMEOS: Endless Story features the work of Brazilian twin brothers Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, known as OSGEMEOS (Portuguese for “the twins”). The exhibit includes almost 1,000 paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photographs that feature their celebrated cultural traditions.
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Level 2: Laurie Anderson’s Four Talks, which covers the entire exhibition space including all walls, the floor, and ceiling. Anderson spent two weeks on site creating the installation as part of her The Weather exhibition. Four Talks, named for the four sculptures displayed in the center of each wall (raven, parrot, canoe, and a shelf) is composed of stories, song and music lyrics, and Anderson’s personal commentary all painted directly on the surfaces of the room.
Level 2: Revolutions: Art from the collection from 1860-1960 celebrated the 50th anniversary season of the museum in 2024. There are contemporary artwork from 19 artists on display throughout the second floor outer circle galleries.
Note: When we visited in December of 2024, the Level 2 inner circle galleries displayed Jessica Diamond’s Wheel of Life, an installation of 15 text and image based artworks which she calls “poetical text.”
Be sure to walk around outdoors and explore the Sculpture Garden, once it reopens after renovations.
Looking for other adventures in Washington DC? See our index of posts here and our feature of free things to do in DC here. And follow along on our adventures on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.
