The National Museum in Warsaw
The National Museum in Warsaw, established in 1862, is one of the oldest museums in Poland. The modernist building housing the institution was constructed before the Second World War, between 1927 and 1938. Today, the National Museum in Warsaw holds a collection of approximately 860,000 works of Polish and international art, spanning from antiquity to the present day.
The collection comprises paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, coins, and examples of decorative arts and design. Each year, the collection is expanded with new, carefully selected works. Recently, the Museum has acquired pieces by Marc Chagall, Francisco Goya, Stanisław Wyspiański, Anna Bilińska, and August Zamoyski. Visitors can explore six permanent exhibitions at the Museum. The Gallery of Ancient Art houses around 1,800 artefacts from the ancient civilisations of Egypt, the Middle East, Greece, and Rome. The unique Faras Gallery presents medieval Nubian paintings from the Nile Valley south of the First Cataract. The Gallery of Medieval Art is the richest and most diverse exhibition of its kind in Poland, showcasing works primarily from the late Middle Ages. The Gallery of Old Masters brings together various forms of art – paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, and examples of decorative craftsmanship, including objects made of porcelain, glass, rock crystal, and gold.
The most popular among visitors is the Gallery of 19th Century Art, featuring works by Poland’s most renowned painters, including Jan Matejko, Stanisław Wyspiański, Jacek Malczewski, Aleksander Gierymski, Józef Chełmoński, and Olga Boznańska. The Gallery of Polish Design showcases Polish decorative arts, presenting the most significant works from the early 20th century to the present day. In addition, the Museum organises several temporary exhibitions each year, drawing on both its own collections and numerous loans from Polish and international institutions.
The Museum’s offering is complemented by educational activities for children and families, young people, adults, and seniors. These include lessons and guided tours, lectures, art workshops, author meetings, film screenings, performances, and concerts.
Due to limited exhibition space, part of the collection is held in storage. However, these works can be viewed online through the Digital MNW platform, whose publicly accessible resources continue to expand. In addition to its Main Building, located in the heart of Warsaw, the National Museum in Warsaw operates four branches: the Xawery Dunikowski Museum of Sculpture at Królikarnia, the Poster Museum in Wilanów, the Museum of Interiors in Otwock Wielki, and the Museum in Nieborów and Arkadia.
ORLEN is the patron of the National Museum in Warsaw.
