中国美术馆是中国唯一的国家艺术博物馆，建立于1963年，坐落在北京市中心，隶属中国文化部。中国美术馆具有展览、收藏、研究、公共教育和国际交流等多种功能，现有建筑面积26,000平方米, 其中用于展览的空间8,000平方米，藏品库房2,800余平方米，灯光照明、温湿控制、消防报警、安全监控等系统具有国际标准。为了适应时代的需求，中国政府已决定在现有建筑的西侧建造40,000平方米面积的新馆。

    中国美术馆主要收藏20世纪中国美术、当代艺术和中国民间美术作品，现有藏品7万余件。这些艺术品在相当程度上反映出了20世纪以来中国美术的发展脉络、创作成就和形式风格，同时，也呈现出中国丰富多彩的民间美术面貌。另外，中国美术馆还收藏有部分中国古代画家的传世之作以及国外艺术品。由于中国美术馆突出的社会地位，建馆以来，先后获得了许多中国著名艺术家的捐赠。近年来还陆续接受了德国、法国、奥地利、美国、韩国、日本、以色列、阿根廷等国艺术家和收藏家的捐赠。

    为了发挥藏品的社会功能，中国美术馆持续不断地举办各类藏品陈列，同时，每年还举办数十个当代艺术展览，其中包括20世纪中国美术史上占有重要地位的著名美术家的个人展览和各个艺术品种的专题展览，如中国画、油画、版画、雕塑、新媒体艺术、书法、陶瓷、民间美术等；同时还举办反映时代特色并具有重要学术价值的综合性展览，如“全国美术作品展览”（每五年举办一次），“北京国际美术双年展”等。

    中国美术馆是中国对外文化交流的重要窗口，与世界上许多著名的艺术博物馆建立了专业合作与交流关系，承担执行政府间文化交流的重要项目，例如近年与法国奥塞博物馆合作举办的“法国印象派绘画珍品展”、与俄罗斯特列恰柯夫艺术博物馆合作举办的“俄罗斯艺术300年”展览，与墨西哥国立现代美术馆合作举办的“墨西哥现代艺术展”等。中国美术馆的藏品也多次到国外展览。目前正在策划一个大规模的以中国美术馆藏品为主的“20世纪中国当代艺术展”，将于2007年在奥地利维也纳展出。在2008年北京奥运会期间，中国美术馆还将举办一系列大型展览，包括“北京国际美术双年展”，“国际媒体艺术节”等。

    中国美术馆同时是中国美术的重要研究中心，围绕藏品开展各项学术研究，成果颇丰，又及时关注当代艺术发展与重要学术课题，主办多种学术研讨会。中国美术馆采取“开门办馆”的方针，援请了一大批有影响的艺术家、美术史论家、艺术批评家组成艺术委员会及展览评审、收藏评鉴、展览策划委员会开展工作，展览的学术内涵和学术品位都得到了明显的提升。中国美术馆出版有众多的反映20世纪中国美术和当代中国艺术成果的专著、画册等出版物，每年出版《中国美术馆年鉴》，开设了中国美术馆网站。由中国美术馆编辑出版的《中国美术馆》月刊，是反映中国美术馆学术形象的重要载体。

    中国美术馆每年接待观众百万人次。为了更好地开展公众教育与艺术推广活动，中国美术馆开设了常规性的专题学术讲座，开展多种类型的公共教育活动，在重要展览中组织志愿者导览和提供语言导览服务，使美术馆更具有广泛的公众性。中国美术馆特别重视对青少年的审美教育，经常性开展各种针对儿童的艺术教育活动。

    在世界艺术博物馆之林中的中国美术馆，与中国一起壮大和发展。中国美术馆将继续为中国美术的发展和国际间的文化交流做出贡献，同时，在国际艺术博物馆业内发挥影响，为维护世界文化的多样性而做出贡献。

National Art Museum of China

The National Art Museum of China is located in central Beijing. It was founded in 1963 and affiliated to Ministry of Culture of P.R.C. Besides exhibitions and collections, NAMOC also provides opportunities of researches, public educations, and international art exchanges. The Museum holds an area of 26,000 m2, of which the exhibition halls being 8,000 m2, the collection storerooms being about 2,800 m2 . Nowadays, the facilities in the museum, including lighting equipments, facilities for constant humanity and temperature, fire-fighting alarms, and security monitoring systems, keep pace with the international standard. In order to keep abreast of time and meet the needs of self-development, with the approval of the government, NAMOC begins constructing a new museum with a floor space of 40,000 m2 to the west the original one. space of 40,000 m2 to the west the original one.

The National Art Museum of China has more than 70 thousand collections mainly including art works in 20 century, contemporary art works, and Chinese folk art works. These works reflect considerably the development, achievement, and the style of art and an array of folk art in China. In addition, works by Chinese ancient artists handled from ancient generation and foreign works are stored in the museum. Because of its high social status, NAMOC has received concerns and supports wildly from the society, especially from artists, and it also has received many art works donated by famous artists in China. In resent years, artists and collectors from Germany, French, Austria, America, Korea, Japan, Israel, Argentina, and other countries donated valuable works to NAMOC.

Constantly changing contemporary-art-work exhibitions and newly reinstalled permanent collections make sure that the collections fully play its social function. Every year NAMOC organize several dozens comprehensive exhibitions, including solo exhibitions of famous artists with high status in the 20th century art circle in China, and monographic exhibitions on traditional Chinese painting, oil painting, engraving, sculpture, new medium art, calligraphy, pottery and porcelain, and folk art. These exhibitions reflect trend of time and are of great academic importance, such as “National Art Exhibition“, (held every five years), and Beijing International Art Biennale , etc.

Being an important window for international cultural exchange in China, the National Art Museum of China has entered into cooperation and exchange with many remarkable museums in the world. It undertakes key projects of art exchanges between governments, which include French Impressionism Art Treasures Exhibition, cooperated with French Orsay Museum, 300 Years of Russian Art with Russian Tretiakov Gallery, and Mexico Modern Art Exhibition with Mexico Modern Art Museum. Collection works in NAMOC also travel abroad. The exhibition 20th Century China Contemporary Art is going to take place in Vienna, Austria in 2007. Most of the items displayed in this exhibition come from NAMOC. During Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, NAMOC is going to host a series of exhibitions of large dimension, such as Beijing International Art Biennial Exhibition and International Media Art Festival .

Moreover, NAMOC is a premier fine arts research center in China, which develops its academic work by focusing on the Museum's collection and has borne rich fruits. It pays close attention to the development of contemporary art as well as important academic subjects and hosts various academic forums about them. Meanwhile, following the Open-minded Running Policy, NAMOC has invited many influential artists, art historians and art critics to form the Museum's Exhibition Evaluation Committee, Collection Examination and Evaluation Committee and Exhibition Planning Committee. By this way, the academic quality and taste of exhibitions held in the Museum has been improved greatly. NAMOC published a great number of monographs and catalogues to reflect academic achievements of Chinese art in 20th century as well as in contemporary era. It edits annual of National Art Museum of China and sets up its official web set, also publishes monthly magazine National Art Museum of China that servicing as an important academic media of the Museum.

Millions of audiences visit National Art Museum of China annually. For better public education and artistic popularization, NAMOC holds regular academic lectures on special subjects, conducts several kinds of public education actions, provides audio guide, organizes volunteers to serve as guides, which give an excellent impression to the public. NAMOC thinks high of juvenile aesthetic education and holds art performances for children.

National Art Museum of China is growing steadily with our country. It will carry on contributing to the development of Chinese art and international art exchanges. At the same time, NAMOC will keep a proper position in the world museum circle and contribute its share of keeping the multifamily of art in the whole world.