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Mark Rothko: Seagram Murals
December 6, 2011–August 15, 2012
East Building, Concourse Gallery 29H
In June 1958, Mark Rothko accepted a commission to decorate a dining room in the Four Seasons restaurant of the Seagram Building on Park Avenue in Manhattan. From the fall of 1958 into 1959, he was completely absorbed, producing more than thirty wine-dark paintings with ambiguous portal shapes evoking what he called a "closed space." However, he became increasingly doubtful that a luxury restaurant was the appropriate venue for his art and ultimately withdrew. The installation of three of the Gallery's Seagram Mural works is timed to coincide with the presentation of John Logan's play Red at Arena Stage (January 20 to March 4), which dramatizes Rothko's struggle with the commission.
Shop for friends and family this holiday season at the National Gallery of Art online Shop. A variety of elegant card sets, ornaments, gift cards and tags, holiday music CDs, and books are available for purchase. Gifts may also be purchased in person from the special holiday shop, located between the West Building Shop and the Garden Cafe.
An array of festive activities awaits at the National Gallery of Art this holiday season. The Gallery's beautifully decorated Rotunda and seasonally themed gallery talks, films, concerts, and caroling have become a highlight of many visitors' holiday itineraries. Information about these free 2009 events can be found online, in addition to multimedia features such as a streaming slideshow and audio tour of Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi's Florentine Renaissance masterpiece The Adoration of the Magi.
Ice Rink Open
Monday-Thursday, 10:00-9:00
Friday and Saturday, 10:00-11:00
Sunday, 11:00-9:00
Weather permitting
7th Street and Constitution Ave NW
Take a spin on the ice in a park setting, surrounded by great museums and monuments and large-scale sculptures by renowned artists, mid-November through mid-March. A variety of skating classes are offered for all ages and experience levels through the "Skate with U.S." program designed by the U.S. Figure Skating Association and taught by Sculpture Garden Skating School director Alice Shelley.
Online visitors may view select works from the exhibition alongside the material that inspired them, highlighting the ways Warhol transformed the original news stories. The feature also presents the print portfolio Flash-November 22, 1963, which pairs screenprinted "news flash" texts of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy with images related to the tragedy. (Image: Copyright 2011 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society [ARS], New York)
In the Tower: Mel Bochner
November 6-April 8
East Building, Tower
Bochner's renowned innovations in conceptual art come to life in the words he paints on canvas. More than 40 thesaurus-inspired works from the last 45 years, including new and unseen works from his studio, are portraits then and now of how we speak. This is the first exhibition from the Gallery's In the Tower series devoted to the work of a living artist.
Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance Bronzes
November 6-April 8
East Building, Ground Floor
The first exhibition in the United States devoted to the Mantuan sculptor and goldsmith Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, known as Antico (c. 1455–1528), includes nearly 40 medals, reliefs, busts, and renowned statuettes. Antico is celebrated for his elegant re-creations of classical models, and he pioneered the technology for producing bronzes in multiples.
The artist Christo presented the National Gallery of Art with two original preparatory collages for Over The River, a project for the Arkansas River in Colorado that Christo developed with his late wife and collaborator, Jeanne-Claude. Both works date from 2010 and were given in honor of the official approval of the project by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management on November 7, 2011. For this project, Christo will suspend 5.9 miles of silvery fabric panels high above the Arkansas River interstitially along a 42-mile stretch between Salida and Cañon City.
The gift, alongside the Gallery's existing collection of preparatory works on paper from various stages of Over The River—two early drawings from 1992 and two large collages from 2000—illustrates Christo's working process and brings to light the project's development as it has evolved over the past two decades. All six works are on view in the lobby of the East Building Auditorium through January 23, 2012.
Designed to protect the works of art they surround, as well as to enhance the works' aesthetic presence and at times their sacred aura, frames have always been of critical concern for artists and patrons. Literally at the margins of art, frames tell a varied and compelling story of their own: of style, use, materials, and history. This brief program introduces visitors to the National Gallery's magnificent collection of frames.
Warhol: Headlines
September 25, 2011–January 2, 2012
East Building, Mezzanine
Warhol's headline works chart the great shift in mainstream media's technological means of delivering news from a two-dimensional printed format to a time-based, electronic format. Some 80 works—paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture, film, video, and television—will reveal the artist's career-long obsession with the sensational side of contemporary media. (Image: Copyright 2011 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York)
Chim: David Seymour's Humanist Photography
A new online feature by the department of photographs looks in depth at the career of pioneering photojournalist David "Chim" Seymour (1911–1956). Chim's unapologetically compassionate work reflected both his deep-seated humanism and his belief in the unique capacity of photography to awaken the public's conscience. The feature examines 32 photographs selected from the Gallery's collection that range from Paris and the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s to the Suez Crisis in 1956, where Chim was killed.
The Invention of Glory: Afonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries
September 18–January 8, 2012
East Building, Upper Level
One of the finest sets of Gothic tapestries in existence will be on view for the first time in the United States. Depicting the conquest of two Moroccan cities by the King of Portugal, Afonso V, in 1471, the four recently restored monumental masterpieces teem with vivid and colorful images of knights, ships, and military paraphernalia set against a backdrop of maritime and urban landscapes.
Podcasts of the 51st A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts by Michael Fried
In spring 2002, Michael Fried, J. R. Herbert Boone Professor and director of the Humanities Center at The Johns Hopkins University, presented The Moment of Caravaggio, a six-part series exploring what Fried calls "the internal structure of the pictorial act" in the revolutionary art of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The accompanying publication, The Moment of Caravaggio, is available from the Gallery Shops.
Conversations with Artists Podcasts
These programs—now available as audio podcasts—began in 1985 to highlight distinguished contemporary artists whose work has been featured in Gallery exhibitions. Included are Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Misrach (pictured, copyright Richard Misrach), Claes Oldenburg, Pat Steir, Wayne Thiebaud, and Leo Villareal.
Gemini G.E.L. Online Catalogue Raisonne, Second Edition
Since 1981, the Gallery has housed the Gemini G.E.L. (Graphic Editions Limited) Archive. The newly expanded version of the online catalogue raisonne introduces 333 works produced by the shop between early 1997 and late 2005, now presenting 2,069 online editions that record Gemini's creative activity from its inception in 1966.
A New Look: Samuel F. B. Morse's Gallery of the Louvre
Through July 8, 2012
West Building, Main Floor
Known today primarily for his role in the development of the electromagnetic telegraph, Samuel F. B. Morse began his career as a painter. One of his most important works is on loan from the Terra Foundation for American Art—the newly conserved Gallery of the Louvre (1831–1833). The painting depicts masterpieces from the Louvre's collection that Morse "reinstalled" in one of that museum's grandest galleries, the Salon Carré. He also envisioned the space as a workshop where individuals study, sketch, and copy from his imagined assemblage of the Louvre's finest works, including paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Veronese, Caravaggio, Rubens, Van Dyck, and Watteau. Morse depicted himself in front, leaning over his daughter as she sketches, and included friend and author James Fenimore Cooper at left with his wife and daughter.
Children's Video Tour
Time Travel
Take a closer look at some of the paintings on display in the West Building of the National Gallery of Art and visit people, places, and surprising scenes from distant lands and times.
If you are visiting the museum, this tour is available in the Rotunda, free of charge, on handheld digital audio players that allow you to listen while standing in front of the original works of art.
Atget: The Art of Documentary Photography
A new online feature by the department of photographs investigates the French photographer Eugène Atget's (1857–1927) groundbreaking work to expand the formal and expressive possibilities of photography through his documentation of the landscape and culture of France. Combining careful analysis and poetic intuition, Atget produced images that are strikingly clear and detailed but also deeply personal and ineffable. The feature examines 32 photographs selected from the Gallery's collection, includes maps showing the location of each shot, and allows viewers to enlarge the images to observe their remarkable detail.
SEA-SAWS is a new interactive activity developed by the Gallery's education department. Young artists choose photographs of natural and man-made objects, then assemble the pieces to create a seascape or an abstract composition. A "build" option allows them to construct animated characters and set them in motion. This Art Zone program is fun for children of all ages. (Requires Shockwave)
In honor of the exhibitions Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals and Italian Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, 1525–1835, Chef Fabio Trabocchi is transforming the menu in the Garden Cafe from February 11, 2011, to March 20, 2012, with a selection of signature Italian dishes. Chef Trabocchi has returned to Washington from New York to open the highly anticipated restaurant Fiola in Penn Quarter.
With a special emphasis on French and American paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries, the Gallery is working with ArtXP to produce giclée reproductions on canvas of works from the Gallery's collection. Printed from photography provided by the Gallery, these reproductions range from well known masterpieces to exceptional lesser known works—some of the hidden treasures of the National Gallery of Art.
ArtBabble.org is a new online community showcasing educational videos about art and artists. The National Gallery of Art is one of its 23 international partners, all working to produce a collection of interviews with artists and curators, original documentaries, and videos about art conservation and installation. Visit ArtBabble, where you can view NGA videos as well as watch a conversation between Maxwell Anderson, director of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and Earl A. Powell III, director of the NGA, as they discuss relevant issues facing art museums today—and stay tuned for more content in the near future.
New Conservation Feature: "Saint John of the Cross"
The 2003 acquisition of Saint John of the Cross, a polychromed wood sculpture attributed to Francisco Antonio Gijón, offered the Gallery's object conservation department a unique opportunity to study the materials and processes used to create the sculptures of the Spanish Golden Age. Take a behind-the-scenes look at the conservators' examinations in our new online slideshow.
Analytical Imaging of Picasso's Le Gourmet
Pablo Picasso, like many other artists, is known to have recycled his painted canvases as well as to have made large "evolutionary" changes to his paintings. Conservation and imaging scientists at the Gallery have been working to improve the visualization of these paint changes by applying newly developed optical imaging methods. Working with researchers and specialized infrared cameras, they have been able to obtain a clear image of a portrait beneath Picasso's blue period painting Le Gourmet. The hidden portrait of a woman is executed in a style used by Picasso prior to his blue period, as indicated by the bold dabs of paint seen in the woman's mantilla. Visitors to our Web site may reveal this hidden portrait by viewing a short animation.
"The History of the Accademia di San Luca, c. 1590–1635: Documents from the Archivio di Stato di Roma" is an online reference database that is one component of a CASVA research project to create the first institutional history of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, the model for all subsequent academies of art worldwide. Drawing from original statutes, meeting proceedings, ledger books, and court records, the project brings together a large number of new and previously unpublished documentary materials. Conceived as two complementary tools—an online database of documentation and a printed volume of interpretive studies (The Accademia Seminars)—the project follows the academy from its origins to its consolidation as a teaching institution.
Faces & PlacesNGAkids Faces & Places is a two-part interactive exploration of American folk art. Using pictorial elements inspired by the Gallery's extensive collection of naive paintings donated by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, youngsters can construct panoramic landscapes and create portraits featuring a lively cast of characters. Traditional folk music and surprising animations enliven the online compositions. This Art Zone activity is suitable for all ages.
NGA on FacebookThe National Gallery of Art is now on Facebook. Become a fan and learn about upcoming events and exhibitions. Our page includes photo albums of exhibition objects and installation views and videos of exhibition press highlights, with more to come. Frequent announcements about lectures, films, exhibition openings, and concerts keep visitors informed of the Gallery's many activities.
Plan your visit to the National Gallery with these maps and guides of must-see works.
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Map and Visitor Guides by Language
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Highlight Guides by Location
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| East Building Highlights (PDF 271k) |
West Building Highlights (PDF 209k) |
West Building Sculpture Highlights (PDF 208k) |
Sculpture
Garden Guide (PDF 270k) |
Guides for Kids and Their Families
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| Family Guide: American Art (PDF 463k) |
Family Guide: Dutch Art (PDF 326k) |
Family Guide: Italian Art (PDF 424k) |
NGAkids Calendar (PDF 220k) |
Inside Scoop (PDF 327k) |
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 quarterly Film Calendar is available in PDF format. (Download Acrobat Reader)
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