National Museum of African Art

Formerly called Museum of African Art, National Museum of African Art was established in 1981 by Warren M. Robbins, a former American Foreign Service officer, at the Frederick Douglass House in Washington, DC. This meant that Robbins was then the first director of the museum.

The museum has mounted exhibitions of traditional African artwork, and developed educational programs to create awareness of the cultures and artistic achievements of Africa. On 5 October 1978, the museum was transferred to the Smithsonian. Its collections around this time included 8000 objects of African sculpture, costumes, textiles, musical instruments, and jewellery, numerous books on African culture and history, early maps of Africa, educational materials; and photographs, slides, and film segments on African art, society, and work by world-renowned photographer Eliot Elisofon.

On 28 September 1987, the National Museum of African Art re-opened in the South Yard behind the Smithsonian Institution Building. The museum is open to members of the public daily at 10h00am until 17h30pm.