Charles Lang Freer’s Library
In 1906, industrialist Charles Lang Freer gave his collection of Asian and American art and related materials in a gift that began the Freer Gallery of Art. This gift included books which are now in the National Museum of Asian Art Library. Mr. Freer’s personal library enables scholars to better understand not only Mr. Freer himself but also the Gallery’s art collections and the context in which many of the objects were acquired. Mr. Freer’s own handwritten comments, notes, and marginalia in many of the items provide insights as to his personal interests as he was building his art collection.
