Participate in a seminar-style luncheon discussion of art history readings followed by a gallery tour of relevant art. Participants may bring their own lunch or purchase it prior to class in the Cascade Café. Preregistration is required and limited to 20 participants per session. Click here to register.
Henri Matisse, "Notes of a Painter"
Sally Shelburne
March 10, 24 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm
East Building Concourse, Education Studio
Read in advance: Henri Matisse, "Notes of a Painter," 1908
"Notes of a Painter" is available in Herschel B. Chipp, Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book by Artists and Critics (Berkeley, 1968), pages 130–137. For those wishing to purchase this important source book, reprints are available at the Gallery Shops or from online booksellers.
So Strange and Far Removed: The Letters of Georgia O'Keeffe, 1919–1929
Wilford W. Scott
April 9, 23 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm
East Building Concourse, Education Studio
Read in advance: Georgia O'Keeffe's letters, 1919–1929
O'Keeffe's letters have been reprinted in Jack Cowart and Juan Hamilton, Georgia O'Keeffe, Art and Letters (Washington, 1987). This exhibition catalogue may be purchased from online booksellers.
Subscribe to Our New Exhibitions Newsletter
In addition to our e-mail newsletters tailored to general visitors to our Web site, educators, and families, the Gallery now offers a special newsletter devoted to exhibitions. Visitors may sign up on our Web site to receive notices shortly before the opening and closing dates of shows and installations.
Final Days to Ice Skate: Rink Closes March 15, 2009
With spring around the corner, the Gallery's much-loved ice-skating rink will be closing Sunday, March 15, 2009. As warmer weather returns, so too will the Sculpture Garden's reflecting pool and fountain centerpiece, along with Friday-night "Jazz in the Garden" summer concerts.
Hunt for Treasures in the West Building
Five new scavenger hunts—designed for ages 5 and under, 6–8, 9–12, 13–16, and 17 and up, respectively—may now be downloaded from our Web site. The treasure hunts encourage art lovers of all ages to seek out masterpieces in the National Gallery, and then solve riddles, match details, and unscramble clues about them.
www.nga.gov/education/classroom/pdf/hunt.ages5under.pdf (ages 5 and under)
www.nga.gov/education/classroom/pdf/hunt.ages6to8.pdf (ages 6 to 8)
www.nga.gov/education/classroom/pdf/hunt.ages9to12.pdf (ages 9 to 12)
www.nga.gov/education/classroom/pdf/hunt.ages13to16.pdf (ages 13 to 16)
www.nga.gov/education/classroom/pdf/hunt.ages17up.pdf (ages 17 and up)
Heaven on Earth: Manuscript Illuminations from the National Gallery of Art
March 1–August 2, 2009
Rare medieval manuscript illuminations, last exhibited in 1975, will be showcased in a stunning installation, Heaven on Earth: Manuscript Illuminations from the National Gallery of Art. This exhibition offers the first in-depth look at these rare medieval manuscript illuminations from 52 single leaves and 4 bound volumes, among them a number of important recent acquisitions, which date from the 12th to the 16th century and were made in France, Germany, Austria, Bohemia, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy.
Celebrate National Women's History Month at the National Gallery
As recently as the 1970s, women's history was virtually unknown as a subject for considered study, either in school or out. In 1978, the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women initiated a Women's History Week. Planned to coincide with International Women's Day, March 8, this celebration has since been expanded: In 1981 Senator Orrin Hatch and Rep. Barbara Mikulski cosponsored the first joint congressional resolution for a national observation. And in 1987 a petition for a month-long (March) celebration was put before Congress; it was subsequently approved, with bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate.
Gallery Talks
Mind and Body: Works by Lynda Benglis
and Rachel Whiteread
March 10, 13, 24, and 28 at 2:00 pm
Meet at East Building Information Desk
Faye Gleisser, staff assistant, National
Gallery of Art
"Self-Portrait" by Judith Leyster
March 16, 17, and 27 at 2:00 pm
March 28 at 1:00 pm
Meet in West Building Rotunda
Eric Denker, lecturer, National Gallery
of Art
"Red Rose Cantata" by Alma Thomas
March 19, 23–26, 30, and 31 at noon
Meet at East Building Information Desk
Diane Arkin, lecturer, National Gallery
of Art
Lecture
Art and Nature in 18th-Century
Naples: From the Rediscovery of
Herculaneum and Pompeii to Emma Hamilton's Attitudes
March 15 at 2:00 pm
East Building Auditorium
Viccy Coltman, senior lecturer in the
history of art, School of Arts, Culture,
and Environment, University of Edinburgh
Pride of Place: Dutch Cityscapes of the Golden Age
February 1–May 3, 2009
The recently opened exhibition Pride of Place: Dutch Cityscapes of the Golden Age explores a new genre of painting that emerged in the 17th century: the cityscape. Fostered by a booming economy, the towns and cities of the Dutch Republic were a source of enormous civic pride, a pride that is visually expressed in these panoramas of the urban skyline and scenes of daily life. Our Web feature offers slideshows, grouped by city, that pair artworks with modern-day photographs of locations in Amsterdam, the Hague, Dordrecht, Middleburg, and Nijmegen. Additional online resources, including the NGAkids "Dutch Dollhouse" interactive, related online tours, and information on family weekends and lectures, can be accessed on our Web site.
Looking In: Robert Frank's "The Americans" and Reading the Modern Photography Book: Changing Perceptions
January 18–April 26, 2009
First published in France in 1958 and in the United States in 1959, Robert Frank's The Americans is widely celebrated as the most important photography book published since World War II. Our new interactive Web feature follows Frank's photographic journey through the United States, while examining the editing and sequencing processes for his photography and its publication. The installation Reading the Modern Photography Book: Changing Perception, shown in conjunction with the Robert Frank exhibition, offers a slideshow of images from the Gallery's library of modern photography books, with examples from the late 1920s to the early 1970s.
In the Tower: Philip Guston
February 1–September 13, 2009
An exhibition, on view February 1 through September 13, 2009, of work by American artist Philip Guston (1913–1980) launches a series of shows in the East Building Tower Gallery that will focus on developments in art since 1970. A video screened in the exhibition explores Guston's life and the inspiration for his work. The artist is also discussed by Barbara Tempchin and Harry Cooper, curator of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art, in a Backstory podcast.
Become a School Docent at the National Gallery of Art!
School docents conduct student-centered thematic tours for thousands of children from all over the country, providing rich and memorable experiences with works of art in the Gallery's collection. The education division is currently recruiting potential volunteers, and applications are available exclusively on our Web site. Further information about the program and informational meetings, FAQs, and the application form are available online.
Applications will be accepted through February 28, 2009. For more information please e-mail docentcandidate@nga.gov.
The Gibbs-Coolidge Set of Presidential Portraits
West Building, Main Floor Gallery 65
In time for the inauguration of the forty-fourth president of the United States, the Gallery has installed Gilbert Stuart's iconic paintings of the country's first five presidents. These portraits of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe have come to define how the nation remembers and pictures these famous men. They will be on view with other fine examples of Stuart's American portraits from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples
Through March 22, 2009
This exhibition presents some 150 works of sculpture, painting, mosaic, and luxury arts, most of them created before the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Exquisite objects from the richly decorated villas along the shores of the Bay of Naples and from houses in the nearby towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum reveal the breadth and richness of cultural and artistic life, as well as the influence of classical Greece on Roman art and culture in this region.
Documenting Discovery: The Excavation of Pompeii and Herculaneum
Through March 20, 2009
Assembled in the Study Center of the National Gallery of Art is a selection of works documenting the finds at two of the most important sites: Herculaneum, which was first excavated in 1738, and Pompeii, first excavated in 1748. From books on interior design to collection catalogues depicting artifacts found at the sites, from accounts of the tragedy and studies of daily life in these ancient cities to souvenir photograph books for travelers on their Grand Tour, we present a cross section of the types of works produced from the mid-18th through the 19th century. They provide not only a window to the ancient world, but also a view of how those who excavated the sites and evaluated the artifacts saw that ancient world.
Purchase an Exhibition Catalogue
Visit the National Gallery Shop Online
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| Looking In: Robert Frank's "The Americans" - Expanded Edition | Dutch Cityscapes of the Golden Age |
Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples |
We would like to hear from you. Please tell us about your visit to the National Gallery of Art. If you would like a reply, please be sure to include your e-mail address.
Plan your visit to the National Gallery with these maps of must-see works.
(Download Acrobat Reader)
Less Than an Hour? West Building Highlights (PDF 224k)
Less Than an Hour? West Building Sculpture Highlights (PDF 136k)
Less Than an Hour? East Building Highlights (PDF 462k)
Sculpture Garden (PDF 270k)
For Children: The Great Picture Hunt (PDF 244k)
Treasure Hunts: West Building Main Floor (PDF 69–110k)
Ages: 5 and Under | 6 to 8 | 9 to 12 | 13 to 16 | 17 and Wiser
Calendar of Events
Find out what's happening this month at
the National Gallery of Art. To obtain a free bimonthly calendar of events by mail, call (202) 842-6662, or contact us by e-mail at calendar@nga.gov.The current bimonthly Calendar of Events is available in PDF format. (Download Acrobat Reader)
Film Calendar
To obtain a free quarterly film calendar by mail,
contact us by e-mail at film-department@nga.gov.
Please include your mailing address. The current bimonthly Film Calendar is available in PDF format. (Download Acrobat Reader)
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