The life and travels of Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919) and his decision to build a museum in Washington, D.C., provide a uniquely American story set in a remarkable period of American history. When the Smithsonian Institution's Freer Gallery of Art opened in 1923, visitors had their first comprehensive view of its founder's artistic vision: his original, innovative concept was based on maintaining a subtle harmony between works by a select number of American artists and a representative collection of Asian antiquities.

Freer: A Legacy of Art integrates the story of Freer's historic connoisseurship with illustrations--125 in full color--of paintings, ceramics, sculptures, and other masterpieces from the Gallery's holdings, together with exceptional archival photographs that document Freer's travels around the world.