Patrons stop to look at Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii by Nam June Paik at the National Portrait Gallery. The National Portrait Gallery is an historic art museum located at 8th and F Streets NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Founded in 1962 and opened to the public in 1968, it is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections focus on images of famous Americans. The museum is housed in the historic Old Patent Office Building.