The National Gallery of Art will remain closed on Monday, February 8, due to weather conditions.

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.

Online Reference Database: The History of the Accademia di San Luca, c. 1590–1635: Documents from the Archivio di Stato di Roma

"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meeting proceedings, ledger books, and court records, the project brings together a large number of new and previously unpublished documentary materials.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.

From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection
Through July 31, 2011

Chester Dale's magnificent bequest to the National Gallery of Art in 1962 included a generous endowment as well as one of America's most important collections of French painting from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This special exhibition, the first in 45 years to explore the extraordinary legacy left to the nation by this passionate collector, features some 83 of his finest French and American paintings.

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Through July 18, 2010

Held in conjunction with From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection, this focus exhibition explores the relationships Chester (1883–1962) and Maud Dale (1876–1953) had with various contemporary artists. The Dales often asked artists to sign publications and were occasionally rewarded with memorable drawings and inscriptions as well as autographs. Chester Dale bequeathed his entire collection of more than 1,500 volumes and 1,200 auction catalogues to the National Gallery of Art, where they now reside in the library as part of his extraordinary legacy.

Garden Café Français

Open through February 10, 2011, the Garden Café Français features a menu of French cuisine developed by award-winning chef Michel Richard in honor of From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection.

The Garden Café provides a serene spot for lunch in the West Building next to the Ground Floor galleries. Throughout the concert season, the Garden Café offers a light fare and beverage menu on Sundays from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Ice Rink in National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden Open

The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden ice-skating season has begun. Located on the National Mall at 7th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, the ice rink is a favorite destination, attracting thousands of visitors each year. Skating in the nation's capital, surrounded by the architecture of national museums and monuments, winter flora, and views of large-scale sculptures by renowned modern and contemporary artists, is a truly unique experience. For further information about skate and locker rentals, the Sculpture Garden, and the adjacent Pavilion Cafe visit www.nga.gov/ginfo/skating.shtm.

Faces & Places

NGAkids 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 Facebook

The 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.

Video Podcast
Arshile Gorky: Ararat (Excerpts)

Years after campaigns against minority Armenians in Turkey caused his family to disperse and his mother to die before his eyes, Gorky found a 1912 photograph taken in the city of Van upon which he based drawings and paintings entitled The Artist and His Mother. The video Ararat (Excerpts) investigates the fraught history of Gorky's lost childhood through his protracted work on the image of himself at age 12, standing beside his mother Shushan. Derived from the feature-length film Ararat written and directed by Academy Award®-nominated director Atom Egoyan.

Hi-Res | Lo-Res | iTunes | RSS (7:02 mins.)

Editions with Additions: Working Proofs by Jasper Johns
October 11, 2009–April 4, 2010
East Building, Ground Level

The exhibition includes approximately 45 proofs for lithographs, etchings, and screenprints that the artist expanded in a range of media, including pastel, ink, and paint. The works of art are installed in two galleries. The first features works from the 1960s and 1970s, highlighting motifs associated with Johns' art throughout his career, such as the alphabet, targets, and body parts. The second gallery introduces complex compositions from the 1980s and 1990s, among them autobiographical references such as family photographs and art objects owned by the artist. The works are selected from a collection of approximately 1,700 proofs for Johns' prints that he has maintained and carefully annotated over four decades. This extraordinary body of work is being acquired by the National Gallery of Art for its permanent collection.

The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: Selected Works
Through May 2, 2010
East Building, Mezzanine and Upper Levels

Ten themes—Scrape, Concentricity, Line, Gesture, Art on Art, Drip, Stripe to Zip, Figure or Ground, Monochrome, and Picture the Frame—illuminate specific works across the Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection. The resulting juxtapositions, often surprising and provocative, provide a new way to tell the story of postwar American art, and of a great collection. Through remarkable acuity, exhaustive study, and close relationships with the artists, the Meyerhoffs amassed one of the most outstanding collections of modern art, with an emphasis on six American masters: Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Brice Marden, Robert Rauschenberg, and Frank Stella, in addition to important works by leading abstract expressionists and younger artists. A number of the 10 themes concern the material process of creation, others address issues of form and composition, and still others extend past material and formal issues to broach the self-reflexive aspects of modernist painting. Some 126 paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints include several acquisitions made after the collection was last highlighted in a major exhibition at the Gallery in 1996. All of the works in the exhibition have been donated or promised to the National Gallery of Art and continue to shape and greatly enhance the Gallery's modern and contemporary collection.

Comments on Your Visit

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.

Visitor Guides

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 153k)

Less Than an Hour? West Building Sculpture Highlights (PDF 160k)

East Building Highlights (PDF 360k)

Sculpture Garden (PDF 270k)

Family Guide: Dutch and French Paintings (PDF 316k)

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)

Subscribe
Subscribe to the Gallery's "What's New" RSS feed to receive new updates automatically. Help