1. New Web Feature Launches

In the Forest of Fontainebleau: Painters and Photographers from Corot to Monet
March 2–June 8, 2008
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, Theodore Rousseau, Jean-Francois 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.
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2008/fontainebleau/index.htm (Web feature)
http://www.nga.gov/fontainebleau (exhibition information)

2. This Month's Featured Artwork from the National Gallery of Art Collection: Little Girl in a Blue Armchair by Mary Cassatt

In Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, Mary Cassatt demonstrates her powers of observation in showing her young subject sprawled in a large, blue armchair. The smartly dressed little girl fidgets; in the next chair is her sleeping dog. The girl's pose has the naturalism of childhood that would later characterize many of Cassatt's paintings of children. Cassatt's strong colors and energetic brushwork mark her connection with the French impressionists. On view in the West Building, Main Floor, Gallery 89.
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=61102+0+none

3. Online Tours: Selected Paintings and Color Prints by Mary Cassatt

Known for her perceptive depictions of women and children, Mary Cassatt was one of a relatively small number of American women to become professional artists in the 19th century, when most women, particularly wealthy ones, did not pursue a career. These two online tours—of selected paintings and color prints from the National Gallery of Art collection—explore Mary Cassatt's journey from art student in Pennsylvania to avant-garde painter in Paris, as well as her relationships with Edgar Degas and the impressionists.
http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/ggcassattptg/ggcassattptg-main1.html (Selected Paintings tour)
http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/cassatt/cassatt-main1.html (Selected Color Prints tour)

4. Recent Acquisition: Study of Flesh Color and Gold by William Merritt Chase

One of New York's most prominent artists in the 1880s, William Merritt Chase surpassed all others in the use of pastel. In his adept hands, pastel's chalky matter rivaled the authority of oil paint, though with greater receptivity to light and an unmatched velvety texture. In Study of Flesh Color and Gold, Chase applied the pastel relatively densely and with exceptional vigor, maneuvering the colored crayon as one would a brush loaded with oil paint. The sumptuous pastel is a gift of Raymond J. and Margaret Horowitz.
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/acquisitioninfo.htm

5. Two New Podcasts Series

Robert Rauschenberg, Parts 1 through 4
Robert Rauschenberg has consistently created vital art for more than 50 years. In this four-part podcast series, curator Charles Ritchie and Rauschenberg biographer Mary Lynn Kotz discuss the artist's creative process and his choice of printmaking as a favorite medium (Part 1); the incorporation of the personal and global in Rauschenberg's art (Part 2); the role that his parents played in his life as an artist (Part 3); and his current work—the Lotus series (Part 4). This podcast series was produced in conjunction with the exhibition Let the World In: Prints by Robert Rauschenberg from the National Gallery of Art and Related Collections, on view through March 30, 2008.
http://www.nga.gov/podcasts (podcasts)
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/rauschenberginfo.htm (exhibition information)

Going Dutch: Exploring Paintings from the Netherlands, Parts 1 and 2
Why do so many people love Dutch paintings? Whether it is the stunning landscapes, the seemingly familiar portraits, or the lush still lifes, these centuries-old paintings still resonate today. In this two-part podcast, curator Arthur Wheelock discusses why these Dutch masterpieces continue to fascinate us (Part 1), and the growth of the Gallery's Dutch paintings collection, including the recent acquisition of a landmark Salomon van Ruysdael landscape, Ferry on a River (Part 2). On view in the West Building, Main Floor, Gallery 47. Visitors to the Gallery may listen to lecturer Eric Denker discuss the work on April 4, 7, and 9 at noon.
http://www.nga.gov/podcasts (podcasts)
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=136583+0+none (Ferry on a River)
http://www.nga.gov/programs/galtalks/index.shtm#ferryonariver (lecture information)

6. National Gallery of Art Exhibitions on Tour

If you missed any of the Gallery's acclaimed exhibitions in 2007, you may still be able to see them on tour. Foto: Modernity in Central Europe, 1918–1945 will be on view through early May at the Milwaukee Art Museum before traveling on to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh in June. The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888–1978: From the Collection of Robert E. Jackson will be at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth this spring, and the J.M.W. Turner retrospective will be nearby at the Dallas Museum of Art before traveling on to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in June. Finally, the landmark Edward Hopper exhibition will be at the Art Institute of Chicago through mid-May.
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/foto/index.htm (Foto at NGA)
http://www.mam.org/FOTO/index.htm (Foto at Milwaukee Art Museum)

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/snapshot/index.htm (The Art of the American Snapshot at NGA)
http://www.cartermuseum.org/exhibitions/the-art-of-the-american-snapshot-1888-1978-from-the-collection-of-robert-e-jackson (The Art of the American Snapshot at Amon Carter Museum)

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/hopper/introduction/index.htm (Edward Hopper at NGA)
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/hopper/index (Edward Hopper at Art Institute of Chicago)

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/turner/index.htm (J.M.W. Turner at NGA)
http://dallasmuseumofart.org/Dallas_Museum_of_Art/View/Turner/index.htm (J.M.W. Turner at Dallas Museum of Art)
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={2BE69841-EA62-4A5C-B1E6-0AD0D8B7BE7D} (J.M.W. Turner at Met)

7. March Calendar of Events

Plan your visit to the Gallery with the help of the March Calendar of Events. Schedules of films, lectures, gallery talks, family activities, and concerts are listed along with information about each event. Events will be added as they are scheduled. Please check back regularly for the most up-to-date Calendar of Events information.
http://www.nga.gov/ginfo/calendar.htm