Friday, 9 May 2014

Out & About: National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

The lovely waterfall at the NGA, helped by all the rain that day!
As well as textile related things (more of which to follow), I also spent some of my American time in various museums.  I had a day and a half in Washington DC and thought I may do some sightseeing after I went to the Smithsonian museums.  However, I was enjoying the museums I visited so much, I ran out of time to see all the museums, let alone more of DC.

Approach to Venice by Turner

Coast near Antibes by Cross
I started with the National Gallery of Art.  Unfortunately the modern wing was closed, but there was still sufficient to keep me going to almost a full day in just the 19th and 20th century pictures on display.
Head of a woman by Modigliani
These are some of my favourite pieces.  I loved the Modigliani sculpture, which reminded me that I am not the first artist to be inspired by ancient Greek Cycladic sculptures. 
Green Wheat Fields, Auvers by Van Gogh, the new acquisition
There were a number of Van Gogh paintings, one of which was a new acquisition and I don’t think I’d seen it before.  I have seen an awful lot of Van Gogh paintings, so this was a lovely pleasure.
Girl in White by Van Gogh
A real highlight was a special exhibition of Garry Winogrand photographs.  His composition was amazing and there was a lovely letter from his second wife complaining about how feckless he was and how she was running out of time to have children (she was 28...).  The photos certainly recorded the States during the 1950-70s in an entertaining and thoughtful fashion.
So if you get the chance, do visit the National Gallery of Art, especially when both wings are open.


2 comments:

Maggi said...

Good to see that you made the most of your time over there. I love the Modigliani piece and, at first glance, the waterfall looks like a roughly woven textile piece.

Gillian Cooper said...

Funny you should say that. Someone on Facebook said she could imagine it as a piece of crochet. It was very beautiful.

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