| The National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art has a world-renowned collection of American and
European paintings, sculptures and graphic arts. Separated by 4th street on the National
Mall, the National Gallery is divided into the West Building and the East Building
designed by I.M. Pei.
If one wanted to tour the Gallery in chronological order, they should start in the West
Building. There they would find the West Building Micro Gallery, an interactive, mutimedia
computer database of the Gallery's permanent collection. It's a good idea to check out
this resource in order to find particular pieces you might want to see.
The collection itself features European works from the13th through early 20th century
with an emphasis on Dutch masters and French impressionists. Artists included in the West
Building's collection include Titian, Renoir, Monet and Rubens. The Gallery is open every
day and conducts multi-lingual tours. A tape-recorded tour is also available for $4.
The East Building of the National Gallery was designed by I.M. Pei, and is a notable
for several features -the most famous of which is the sharp angle of the southwest corner
that has been rounded by thousands of visitors touching the wall.
Inside the building is part of the Smithsonian's collection of modern art. The huge
Alexander Calder mobile "untitled" that is suspended from the atrium is a great
invitation to the exhibits. Like the West Building, the East building has an enormous
permanent collection as well as temporary exhibits. Permanent pieces include works by
Picasso, Miro, Kandinsky and Pollack. |
