John Russell Pope and the Building of the National Gallery of Art

March 17-July 17, 1991

Overview: A 2-part presentation consisted of an exhibition relating to the design and construction of the Gallery's original West Building, and an extensive audiovisual program about the building's architect, John Russell Pope. The exhibition was organized in 3 sections and included photographs and archival materials illuminating the Gallery's institutional and architectural origins; 75 drawings, many by Otto Eggers, documenting building design; and photographs illustrating construction and completion of the building. A group of Pope's drawings from his student days at the American Academy in Rome was exhibited as well. The audiovisual program explored Pope's career and his relationship to the architecture of Washington, DC The exhibition opened on the Gallery's 50th birthday as part of its anniversary celebration.

Exhibition curators were Maygene Daniels, chief, gallery archives; Richard Saito, architectural archivist; and Christopher A. Thomas, Samuel H. Kress postdoctoral fellow in the Gallery's Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA). The audiovisual program was produced by Rusty Russell Associates and coordinated by Susan Arensberg and Lorraine Karafel, department of education. John Olson and Mark Leithauser designed the exhibition.

Attendance: 266,678 (123 days)

Location: West Building, Central Gallery, Lecture Hall

Brochure: John Russell Pope and the Building of the National Gallery of Art. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1991.

Related publication: The Architecture of the West Building of the National Gallery of Art, by Christopher A. Thomas. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1992.

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