Updated: March 21, 2008

National Gallery of Art 2007-2008
Advance Exhibition Schedule

Richard Misrach: On the Beach
The Art Institute of Chicago—September 15–November 25, 2007
The Contemporary Art Museum, Honolulu—December 14, 2007–March 2, 2008
National Gallery of Art—June 1–September 1, 2008
Henry Art Gallery, Seattle—November 8, 2008–February 18, 2009
High Museum of Art, Atlanta—May 23–August 16, 2009

For more than thirty years, the American photographer Richard Misrach (b. 1949) has made provocative work that addresses contemporary society's relationship to nature, especially the American West. Since 2001, he has made a series of large scale (five by eight or ten feet), lushly colored photographs of swimmers and sunbathers in Hawaii. Looking down from a hotel room directly adjacent to the beach, he has eliminated all references to the horizon and sky to record people immersed in the idyllic environment. Yet, despite the beauty of the scene, a strange sense of disquietude pervades these photographs. Made in the days immediately after September 11, 2001, these photographs speak of the unease and sense of foreboding that pervaded the country after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The title of the series, On the Beach is drawn from Nevil Shute's cold war novel about nuclear holocaust. This exhibition will present 19 of these photographs.

This exhibition was initiated by The Art Institute of Chicago.

The exhibition is made possible through the generous support of the Trellis Fund.

Martin Puryear
Museum of Modern Art, New York—November 4, 2007–January 14, 2008
Museum of Modern Art, Fort Worth—February 24 –May 18, 2008
National Gallery of Art—June 22–September 28, 2008
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco—November 1, 2008–January 25, 2009

A native Washingtonian who has achieved international acclaim, Martin Puryear (b. 1941) has created a distinctive body of sculpture that defies categorization. Serenely quiet and poetic, his work explores natural forms and materials, especially a wide variety of woods, and engages issues of history, culture, and identity. The first American retrospective of his work in more than 15 years features 48 objects created between 1976 and 2007, including several made especially for the exhibition. Puryear's art reflects the integration of concepts of minimalism that engage many of his contemporaries with processes of carving, carpentry, and weaving. A master craftsman, he encountered these traditions as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone and an art student in Stockholm.

The exhibition was organized by The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The exhibition is sponsored by The Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art.

George de Forest Brush: The Indian Paintings
National Gallery of Art—September 14, 2008–January 4, 2009
Seattle Art Museum—February 26–May 24, 2009

When George de Forest Brush (1855–1941) first ventured into the American West, his purpose was unrelated to his art. However, what resulted was a series of paintings that combined his experience in the West with his French academic training. The exhibition marks the first time a show has been mounted that focuses exclusively on these Indian paintings. Created in his studio, the more than 25 works exhibited are based on sketches Brush created during his time spent living with native tribes in Wyoming and Montana in the early 1880s. Brush worked for a decade completing the works, which primarily focus on isolated individuals either placed in sparse landscapes and seemingly lost in private thought or engaged in creative activities such as weaving or sculpting.

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with the Seattle Art Museum.

Jan Lievens: Out of Rembrandt’s Shadow
National Gallery of Art—October 26, 2008–January 11, 2009
Milwaukee Art Museum—February 7–April 28, 2009
Rembrandthuis, Amsterdam—May 17–August 9, 2009

Jan Lievens began his career in Leiden as a friend and rival of Rembrandt, but he soon aspired to become an international master, moving to London and Antwerp before returning to Amsterdam for the remainder of his career. One of the most fascinating and enigmatic Dutch artists of the 17th century, Lievens was a daring and innovative painter, draftsman, and printmaker, who created a variety of memorable works including head studies, religious and allegorical paintings, landscapes, and formal portraits. Drawn from collections in England, Europe, and America, the exhibition consists of 45 of his finest paintings, as well as a select group of his drawings and prints. The exhibition will provide an opportunity to reassess Lievens' career and artistic contributions.

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Rembrandthuis, Amsterdam.

The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation is the national sponsor of the exhibition.

The exhibition is made possible by the generous support of Isabel and Alfred Bader and anonymous donors in honor of George M. Kaufman.

Early support for curatorial and conservation research has been provided by Mrs. George M. Kaufman and the Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation.

Looking In: Robert Frank's "The Americans"
National Gallery of Art—November 23, 2008–March 1, 2009
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art—May 17–August 23, 2009
Metropolitan Museum of Art—September 20–December 27, 2009

First released in 1958, Robert Frank's The Americans is one of the most important photography books published since World War II. Including 83 photographs made in 1955 and 1956 while Frank (b. 1924) traveled around the United States, the book looked beneath the surface of American life to reveal a profound sense of alienation, angst, and loneliness. With these prescient photographs, Frank redefined the icons of America, noting that cars, jukeboxes, gas stations, diners, and even the road itself were telling symbols of contemporary life. Frank's style—seemingly loose, casual compositions, with often rough, blurred, out-of-focus foregrounds and tilted horizons—was just as controversial and influential as his subject matter. The exhibition celebrates the 50th anniversary of the book's publication by providing a detailed examination of its construction and its impact on Frank's later work.

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

The exhibition catalogue is published with the assistance of The Getty Foundation.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

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National Gallery of Art 2007-2008 Advance Exhibition Schedule

National Gallery of Art 2007-2008
Advance Exhibition Schedule