Release Date: February 29, 2008

Johannes Vermeer Masterpiece to Travel from the National Gallery Of Art, Washington, to the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, in Late 2008

Washington, DC—The National Gallery of Art’s masterpiece, A Lady Writing (c. 1665) by Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) will travel west to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, CA. West coast audiences will have the opportunity to see this Dutch masterpiece from November 7, 2008 through February 2, 2009.

In 2007, the Norton Simon Museum loaned a painting by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669), Portrait of a Boy in Fancy Dress (c. 1655), where it was on view from May 11 through September 4, 2007. These loans are part of a long-term exchange program between the two institutions. Additional loans have not yet been finalized.

The National Gallery of Art owns three Vermeer paintings, Girl with the Red Hat (c. 1665/1666), A Lady Writing, and Woman Holding a Balance (c. 1664); and one attributed to Vermeer, Girl with a Flute (probably 1665/1670). Other Vermeer paintings are housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Frick Collection, both in New York City.