Sculpture Galleries: Permanent Collection January 3, 2010

The sculpture galleries display more than nine hundred works of art from the permanent collection. They feature primarily European sculpture dating from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century and one of the world's finest collections of medals and plaquettes, as well as decorative arts, related paintings, and a special display room for rare books. Several galleries and three French period rooms have been renovated, and seventeen new galleries have been designed to relate to the neoclassical spaces on the West Building's upper floor by architect John Russell Pope. Maximum use is made of natural light, allowing visitors to see many of the sculptures clearly in large spacious galleries.