What to see at National Gallery in D.C?

[Michele Rushworth]

I'm trying to decide if I should stay through Sunday as part of my trip to the PSA event in D.C in May, in order to go to the National Gallery of Art.

How would you rank that museum compared to, say, the Met in New York?

What "must see" artwork would you recommend there?

[Jimmie Arroyo]

I will throw in my $.02 and say the National Gallery is a huge disappointment compared to the Metropolitan. The architecture is beautiful in the original building, but several rooms were closed when I was there. I was'nt crazy about the basic layout which has you moving room to room in a manner completely different than the Met. I may simply be used to the Met's layout and not being fair to the NGA. The Met seems more convenient moving around. The collection is much smaller than the Met, and the new building is, imo, a waste of space. I personally do not care for the majority of modern art, but the layout is terrible. The building itself takes more importrance than the work with big open areas and small rooms.

I was thankful it was free, because we were driving back from Virginia and stopped there just for the museum. Maybe it's better than I think, I could have been upset expecting more and taking longer to find a parking than NYC. I would not go out of my way to go there again, unless I'm directly in the area or there's an important show going on. Again, just my opinion and I could be completely off.

[Michele Rushworth]

Is it mostly Modern Art?

[Jimmie Arroyo]

The new building is. You can take a (not sure what it's called) moving sidewalk, kinda like the ones at airports, to get there from the original building. On the way there, you get to see the gift shop, which is enormous. Makes you feel like it's more important than the galleries.

I'm making the place sound pretty bad, so you're better off checking out the website at http://www.nga.gov/ and try to judge for yourself. You may find something you absolutely love which will make the visit worthwhile. I was quickly disappointed by all the closed areas in the original building and may have viewed the museum in a bad mood. It was poorly setup during my visit, your experience may be much better.

Have you been to the Metropolitan, now that's a place to spend a couple of days!

[Mary Reilly]

Michele,
I lived in New Jersey for a number of years and had access to the Met. Now I live in Virginia and visit the National Gallery. There is no comparison, ... but then is any place like the Met?

However, eventhough it doesn't begin to compare with the Met I still think it is worth a visit. When I go to the conferences (or other cities for different reasons) I try to always stay and visit whatever museum is in that city, there always is some original piece that is worth seeing in person, and I figure it may be my only opportunity.

Regarding the National Gallery. It is in two sections, the East Building and the West Building and they are connected by an underground Concourse. The East Building tends to have more modern art. With the exception of Special Exhibits (often held in the east building) I generally don't care for the East Building. I prefer visiting the West Building. Although the collections are not as extensive as the Met, there are still some excellent works worth seeing. In particular, if you go there be sure to check out the "Shaw Memorial". There is an excellent relief sculpture of the first African-American infantry to fight for the north in the civil war. The piece is beautifully done. It is on the main floor of the west building.

The West Building also contains DaVinci's "Ginevra de' Benci" as well as some excellent Frans Hals, Rembrandt's and other dutch and flemish painters. There are also some wonderful pieces by the impressionists.

Someplace else to consider in DC and within walking distance (if you don't mind walking) of the National Gallery is the Freer Gallery of Art. They have the world's largest collection of work by Whistler. However, they can only display portions of the collection at a time because of space limitations.

Plus there are some excellent non-art museums to visit in DC.

Hope this helps, and I look forward to meeting you and others at the conference!

Mary

[Garth Herrick]

Dear Michele,

Mary has spoken well here about the NGA. I t will be HUGELY worth your while to spend that extra day there. Living in Philadelphia which is somewhat of a mid-point between the Met and NGA, I will admit I give them each equal time in terms of visitation frequency. The bulk of the collection is not modern and quite exemplary, and certainly in my mind would be just what you are seeking to see. The modern collection in the East Wing is admirable and refreshing to experience as well; for what it's worth I LOVE the East Wing too. Please stay! I'll join you.

Garth

[Michele Rushworth]

Garth, can you make it to the National Gallery on Thursday? I'll be coming in early for the conference but flying back on Sunday morning.

[Garth Herrick]

Yes, Michele,

I most likely can. I will make it a priority to arrive in the late a.m.

Garth

[Michele Rushworth]

Cool!