Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Washington DC

National Portrait Gallery, Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Today was my kind of day.  It was saturated with art. As I've stated before, the hotel is in a prime location, and we were able to walk about 5 blocks to the National Portrait Gallery.  We began our visit with the  "Portraiture Now" series' seventh installation.  Last year we saw the sixth installation of miniature portraits that were amazing in their detail and realism.  This exhibition looks at the narrow boundaries that once defined drawing and portraiture with artists who explore the melding of painting, video, writing, computer technology and photography as well as drawing.  All the artists are meticulous in their work, probe the psychological make up of their subjects and use scale to a very effective degree.  Please take a look at their works here.  Each artist is listed to the side with links to view the works.  
We took a long look at the early works that documented the beginnings of our country from the earliest settlements through the Civil War and Reconstruction.  Particularly, I remember portraits and busts of Pocahontas, Abigail Adams, Booker T. Washington, John Brown and Elizabeth I.  
The American Art Museum is attached to the Portrait Gallery.  We crossed over to see an exhibit , The Civil War and American Art, that examines how American artists represented the impact of the Civil War and its aftermath.  There were amazing works from the Hudson River Valley artists, Bierstadt, Church and Gifford, and, for me, a new look at Winslow Homer. Here is a video trailer of the show.   There is a large, beautiful atrium that connects the two museums.  We sat there for a lunch and rest before heading out to the National Gallery
The National Gallery, about 20 minute walk, took us past the Naval Memorial.  It had lovely high relief sculptures circling a open area.  The National Gallery is exhibiting Pre-Raphaelites, one of Wayne's top see list schools of art.  He fell in love with them while attending Oxford University.  They hold several levels of engagement for him.  This show was a curator's coup.  Neither of us have seen such a large grouping before.  There were 130 paintings, sculptures, works on paper and decorative art objects.  It was a fabulous show.  
We ended our day with dinner at Caiba (pronounced Say-Bah), a Latin American restaurant near the hotel.  You can see my interesting fish dish on flickr.  We had Italian Cream Cake for dessert back at the hotel provided by Aunt Juanita.  A perfect ending to a perfect day.  Flickr Pictures Here.