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The Fifty-seventh A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts 2008
Bosch and Bruegel: Parallel Worlds
Joseph Leo Koerner, Harvard University
Lectures are held in the East Building Auditorium (eba) at 2:00 p.m.
May 11 In Pursuit of the Ordinary
Celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month at the National Gallery of Art
To honor the achievements of Asian/Pacific Americans and to recognize their contributions to the United States, May is celebrated as Asian/Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month. The first observance, as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week, was celebrated in May 1979, soon after President Jimmy Carter signed a Joint Resolution enacting it. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush signed Public Law 102–450, which permanently designated a month.
Foreign Language Tours
May 13, and 22 at 2 p.m., Japanese
May 14 at 12 noon, Mandarin
East Building, Information Desk
Opening Day Celebration of
Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures
from the National Museum, Kabul
May 25 at
11 a.m.–6 p.m.
East Building, Mezzanine
Afghanistan’s rich cultural heritage is
celebrated in this exhibition of some
228 extraordinary archaeological
treasures from the National Museum
of Afghanistan, Kabul.
Gallery Talk
Where Art and Nature Meet: Isamu Noguchi's "Great Rock of Inner Seeking"
May 27, 28, 31 at noon
East Building Ground Level, Information Desk
Faye Gleisser
and
Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul
May 30 at noon
(60 minutes)
East Building Ground Level, Information Desk
J. Russell Sale or Carla Brenner
Lecture
Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul
May 25 at 2:00 p.m.
East Building Concourse, Large Auditorium
Fredrik T. Hiebert, director of the Afghanistan Project, National Geographic Society
Book signing to follow
Film
Lost Treasures of Afghanistan
May 25 at 11:30 a.m.
Concert: Traditional Afghan
Ensemble
May 25 at
4 p.m.
East Building, Atrium
Online Tour
Chinese Porcelains
Online Exhibitions
Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Victoria and Albert Museum
Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia: Millennium of Glory
Education Rescources
Teaching Edo Art in Japan, 1615–1868
Teaching The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology
Asian Art Education Resources
The following Asian art programs may be borrowed free-of-charge from the National Gallery of Art’s Division of Education:
* Art From Asia (DVD)
* Art of Indonesia (DVD/Video)
* Beyond the Yellow River: Recent Discoveries from Ancient China (DVD/Video)
* The Chinese Past: 6,000 Years of Art and Culture (Teaching Packet)
* Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration (Teaching Packet)
* Daimyo (DVD/Video)
* Edo Art in Japan, 1615-1868 (Teaching Packet)
* The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology (Teaching Packet)
* Sacred Art of Angkor (DVD/Video)
* Splendors of Imperial China: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei (CD-ROM)
Visit Our Newly Expanded East Building Information Desk
Take a look at the beautiful new digital screen at the East Building Information Desk, which highlights both temporary exhibitions and works from the permanent collection. A new daily calendar reminds visitors when films, lectures, and tours are about to begin.
Subscribe to Our Free E-mail Newsletters
Stay up to date with the National Gallery of Art by subscribing to our free e-mail newsletters: Web, educators, family programs, fellowships/internships, films, lectures, music programs, and teen programs. Select as many updates as you wish to receive. To edit your subscriber information, please go to our subscription
management page.
In the Forest of Fontainebleau: Painters and Photographers from Corot to Monet
Through June 8, 2008
East Building
Upper Level, Northbridge, and Mezzanine
Nearly 120 paintings, pastels, and photographs reveal the pivotal role of the Forest of Fontainebleau in the development of 19th-century naturalistic landscape painting and early photography. The exhibition traces the evolution of landscape painting through the work of artists such as Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Théodore Rousseau, Jean-François Millet, and Claude Monet (whose experience in Fontainebleau inspired impressionism). Viewers can take a closer look at highlighted works in our new Web feature, as well as learn about Fontainebleau's history, its flora and fauna, and village life in and around the artists colony.
Complete Survey of Renaissance Medals Collections at the National Gallery of Art
Now Available in the Gallery Shop
The most important public collection of Renaissance-era medals in the United States resides at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and is the focus of a new publication, Renaissance Medals. The first comprehensive catalogue of this collection is available as a two-volume set covering 957 medals acquired through 2003. Of these, 163 are currently on view at the National Gallery of Art in the West Building Ground Floor Sculpture Galleries.
The catalogue, compiled over more than 20 years, offers the most detailed art historical and scientific assessment of the collection available to date, including technical information such as the alloy composition of each medal. Volume one features Italian medals, including dozens of masterworks by Pisanello, who essentially invented the medium of portrait medals. Volume two focuses on French, German, Netherlandish, and English medals, including works by Guillaume Dupré, Albrecht Dürer, and Jacques Jonghelinck, and continues through the baroque and later periods.
National Gallery of Art Seeks Drawings, Watercolors, and Paintings on Paper by Mark Rothko for Essential Reference Volumes
As part of a worldwide initiative, the National Gallery of Art is seeking information about drawings, watercolors, and paintings on paper in public and private collections by the American artist Mark Rothko (1903–1970). The National Gallery of Art is publishing a multivolume catalogue raisonné, Mark Rothko: The Works on Paper, which will document more than 2,700 objects that are largely unknown to both art specialists and the public. Demonstrating the range of Rothko's creative achievements, these volumes will be the definitive historical record of Rothko's oeuvre on paper for decades to come.
Anyone with information regarding works on paper by Mark Rothko should contact Laili Nasr, Rothko Catalogue Raisonné Project. Mailing address: National Gallery of Art, 2000B South Club Drive, Landover, MD 20785; phone: (202) 842-6779; fax: 202-789-3204; e-mail: l-nasr@nga.gov.
Volunteer at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden
The Sculpture Garden plantings are maintained by the National Gallery of Art horticulture staff. The division of horticulture is currently accepting applications for volunteers. For more information on volunteer opportunities, candidates should submit a letter of interest including all vital contact information to gardens@nga.gov.
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.
New Interactive: NGAkids Still Life
The new NGAkids Still Life interactive encourages young artists to explore the world around them by arranging artistic elements and everyday objects into multi-dimensional works that mirror those of the old masters. But there are surprises in store, as some of the objects unexpectedly spring to life! Experiment with spatial arrangements, size variables, and perspective angles, then switch modes and add layers of textured "brushstrokes" to create a more painterly, abstract image. This Art Zone activity is suitable for all ages.
Andy Goldsworthy: Roof
East Building, Ground Level
British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy (b. 1956) was invited by the
National Gallery of Art in January 2003 to create a work for
the Gallery on site or elsewhere in the region. Impressed with
the abundance and character of Washington's stone structures,
Goldsworthy conceived a project reflecting his interest in local
building stones and their geological origins. The resulting project
comprises two phases: ephemeral work completed on Government
Island in Stafford County, Virginia, and a permanent sculpture
located on the Ground Level of the Gallery's East Building. Goldsworthy,
along with his assistant and a team of workers including four
dry-stone wallers from Britain, installed the sculpture entitled
Roof over the course of nine weeks in the winter of
2004/2005. The site specific sculpture comprises nine hollow,
low-profile domes of stacked slate, each with a centered oculus.
View panoramas of Roof in progress.
Support
the Gallery:
Make a Gift Online
The National Gallery of Art relies on a partnership of public
support and private philanthropy to carry out its mission of
service to the nation. You can learn more about giving to the
Gallery through a Web site feature, "Support
the Gallery."
This feature includes information about the many important Gallery programs that benefit from private funding and the various ways to make a gift. We invite you to explore how you can help the Gallery fulfill its mission through a charitable gift.
Visitor Guides
Less Than an Hour? West Building Highlights
(PDF 158k) (Download Acrobat Reader)
Less Than an Hour? East Building Highlights
(PDF 462k) (Download Acrobat Reader)
For Children: The Great Picture Hunt
(PDF 184k) (Download Acrobat Reader)
Plan your
visit to the National Gallery with these maps of must-see works.
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)