The National Gallery of San Francisco is a visual arts institution that promotes art to the world. It has built a diverse permanent collection and exhibition program of past and present works by local and international artists.
The National Gallery collection is among the best in the world, it boasts works by some of the most important artists in history. Its renowned paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, prints, and drawings are among the finest and most visited. Originally created as a gift to the people, it is an enduring symbol of the nation’s commitment to the arts.
The National Gallery has an active exhibitions program, which includes retrospectives of work by major artists, thematic exhibitions, guest-curated exhibitions, touring exhibitions and the premier national exhibition, the National Gallery Biennial.
The Gallery hosts educational programs, concerts, and a full spectrum of cultural events, offering a range of educational services, including guided tours, lectures, panel discussions and children’s art programs. We warmly welcome you to share the many activities, exhibitions and events developed at the National Gallery for us all to enjoy.
The collection is free to the public.
AIMS
The Gallery aims to study and care for the collection, while encouraging the widest possible access to the pictures. Its goal is to encourage cultural diversity, disseminate artistic knowledge and promote art from the worlds. The National Gallery has a duty of care towards the collection. Our conservation specialists employ a range of techniques and technologies to preserve the condition of the artworks.
The vision of the Gallery is the cultural enrichment of all people through access to their art, the quality of the national collection, the exceptional displays, exhibitions and programs, and the professionalism of our staff.
Key priorities are the continued development of an outstanding national collection of works of art; maintenance and protection of the national collection; to provide engaging displays, exhibitions and public programs; to provide extensive access to a publication and promotion of the national collection and the visual arts.
Our mission statement is to collect, research, document and preserve art and related material and to promote our artistic heritage for the benefit of present and future generations.
We are constantly improving and adding to the information on this website through research and scholarship, with updates being made to records on a regular basis and images added when they become available. This will take time, so please read the record details with this in mind.
VALUES
Our values are excellence, pride in our heritage, inspiration, accessibility, creativity and integrity. These values define the way we work. We respect tradition and are proud of our history, but value creativity and innovation in our efforts to improve our service to the public.
Our collections policy determines the kind and quality of a new acquisition and those newly acquired are done so lawfully and with the greatest of care. The National Gallery encompasses the necessary resources to properly ensure that the objects in our permanent collection are cared for with the best intention.