Celebrate the Chinese New Year at the Freer Gallery of Art
and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

To celebrate the Chinese Year of the Horse, which begins on Feb. 12, the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art (Jefferson Drive and 12th St. S.W.) and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (1050 Independence Ave. S.W.) are offering special activities including the opening of the Freer exhibition, "Year of the Horse: Chinese Horse Paintings."

In the exhibition, on view Feb. 10 through Sept. 2, 19 works of horse paintings and calligraphy, dating from the 11th to the 20th century, depict several major themes, such as hunting, grooms and horses, and Central Asian nomads and horses.

Families visiting the Freer and Sackler galleries on Feb. 10 can watch an artist create horse paintings, participate in free art workshops and take special tours celebrating the New Year. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mongolian artist Damba Tsolmon-whose paintings of horses and horse scenes have been exhibited throughout the world-demonstrates his techniques. At 1 and 2:30 p.m., the galleries' popular ImaginAsia program allows children ages 6 to 14 accompanied by an adult to celebrate the Chinese New Year by exploring the galleries' collections for the horses, lions and dragons that participate in the festivities. In the classroom, participants create stick puppets to take home. At noon and 2:30 p.m., curator Joseph Chang leads special tours of the new exhibition.

Visitors may also wish to visit the galleries' shops where items relating to the Year of the Horse and Chinese astrology are available.

"We are delighted to have programs for the community to learn more about Chinese New Year," said Vidya Dehejia, acting director of the Freer and Sackler galleries. "This exhibition along with the programs should be very informative and fun for everyone."

Dating from as early as 1000 B.C., the traditional Chinese method of counting years is based on the 60-year rotation of the planet Jupiter (known as the "year star") around the sun. Every 60-year period is divided into five cycles of 12 years, and each of the 12 years is associated with a particular animal. In general, each year contains twelve lunar months of 28 or 29 days, with occasional adjustments. Accordingly, Chinese years vary in length and do not begin or end at the same time as Western years. The current Year of the Horse lasts from Feb. 12, 2002, to Jan. 31, 2003.

The written character ("ma") for horse appears in the most ancient form of Chinese writing, which dates from the 14th to the 11th centuries B.C. However, it was not until the Tang dynasty (618-907.) that the horse emerged as a prominent independent category in the Chinese painting tradition. Subsequently, the horse became a recurring theme, especially in depictions of travel, trade, hunting and military exercises and in genre paintings showing the nomadic tribes that lived to the north and west of China.

The Freer Gallery of Art (12th Street and Independence Avenue S.W.) and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (1050 Independence Ave. S.W.) together form the national museum of Asian art for the United States. The Freer also houses a major collection of late 19th and early 20th-century American art. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day except Christmas Day, Dec. 25, and admission is free. Public tours are offered daily. The galleries are located near the Smithsonian Metrorail station on the Blue and Orange lines. For more information, the public may call 202.357.2700 or TTY 202.357.1729, or visit the galleries' Web site at www.asia.si.edu.