Release Date: February 14, 2008

The Impressionist’s Toolbox on View
March 3–June 7, 2008; Complements
“In the Forest of Fontainebleau:
Painters and Photographers from
Corot to Monet”
at the National Gallery of Art

Gaston Tissandier
La Photographie, 1882
National Gallery of Art Library
David K. E. Bruce Fund

Washington, DC – The artists who created amazing works of impressionist art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries had unprecedented access to equipment and information. Tools of the Trade will present a rare and fascinating collection of vintage art-supply catalogues, instruction manuals, and historic gear. On view from March 3 through June 6, 2008, in the East Building, the display is a joint effort of the National Gallery of Art library and conservation departments. Hours of the exhibition are Monday, noon to 4:30 p.m., and Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except federal holidays.

The display complements In the Forest of Fontainebleau: Painters and Photographers from Corot to Monet, a showcase of 19th-century landscape works created in the famous forest south of Paris that attracted both painters and photographers. That exhibition in Washington is made possible by The Florence Gould Foundation. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Tools of the Trade includes three sections that highlight materials available for oil painting, works on paper, and photography. Each section begins with a selection of instruction books describing techniques ranging from color harmony to perspective, landscape composition to pastel technique, and paint mixing to photographic developing. Part two of each section features illustrated catalogues showing everything an artist would need to venture outside the studio, such as paint boxes, brushes, easels, portable folios and stools, cameras, and tripods from around the world. Each section ends with images of artists at work.

Exhibition Curators

The co-curators of the exhibition are Neal Turtell, executive librarian, and Yuri Long, library researcher, both at the National Gallery of Art.

Library and Rare Books Collection

The National Gallery of Art Library contains more than 350,000 books and periodicals, including more than 8,000 volumes in the rare book collection, with an emphasis on Western art from the middle ages to the present. Founded in 1941 when the West Building opened to the public, the library moved to the East Building in 1979. The photographic archives and slide library contain more than 11 million black-and-white prints and 300,000 slides of painting, sculpture, architecture, and the decorative arts. Access to the library is by appointment only. Call (202) 842-6511 for more information.

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.

For additional press information please call or send inquiries to:

Press Office
National Gallery of Art
2000B South Club Drive
Landover, MD 20785
phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

Deborah Ziska
Chief of Press and Public Information
(202) 842-6353
ds-ziska@nga.gov

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The Impressionist’s Toolbox on View March 3–June 7, 2008; Complements “In the Forest of Fontainebleau: Painters and Photographers from Corot to Monet” at the National Gallery of Art

The Impressionist’s Toolbox on View
March 3–June 7, 2008; Complements
“In the Forest of Fontainebleau:
Painters and Photographers from
Corot to Monet”
at the National Gallery of Art