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From first kisses to tragic romances, our collection abounds with love, in all its forms.

Here we’ve selected some of our favorites, including works you can see in the galleries plus hidden treasures from our storerooms. Enjoy classics ranging from Auguste Rodin’s The Kiss and Pablo Picasso’s The Lovers to contemporary photographs and prints portraying family bonds, close friendships, and lovers, of course.

Explore more hidden treasures from our collection, including wintry scenesfood in art, and our spookiest works.

Kissing Booth

Pucker up! Austrian artist Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss isn’t the only artwork to evoke a romantic smooch. French sculptor Auguste Rodin made several works portraying embracing couples. In Rodin’s The Kiss the tangled figures nearly obscure the meeting of their mouths. 

Auguste Rodin, The Kiss (Le Baiser), model 1880-1887, cast c. 1898/1902

On view: West Building, Ground Floor - Gallery 2
Auguste Rodin, The Kiss (Le Baiser), model 1880-1887, cast c. 1898/1902, bronze, download image

Heinrich Aldegrever, Large Wedding Dancers, 1538

Not on view
Heinrich Aldegrever, Large Wedding Dancers, 1538, engraving, download image

Jim Goldberg, The Sugar Daddy's Motel Room, 1988, printed 1994

Not on view

Jim Goldberg, The Sugar Daddy’s Motel Room, 1988, printed 1994, gelatin silver print

Young Love

Do you remember your first kiss or school dance? These works embrace the sweet, and sometimes awkward, early romances. Harlem photographer James Van Der Zee’s formal portrait of a tiny bride and groom takes pretend weddings to the next level.

James Van Der Zee, Mock Wedding, c. 1930

Not on view
James Van Der Zee, Mock Wedding, c. 1930, gelatin silver print

American 20th Century, Untitled (Adolescent couple wearing paper crowns at a dance), c. 1970

Not on view
American 20th Century, Untitled (Adolescent couple wearing paper crowns at a dance), c. 1970, gelatin silver print

Winslow Homer, On the Stile, 1878

Not on view
Winslow Homer, On the Stile, 1878, watercolor, gouache, and graphite on wove paper, download image

Jim Goldberg, Hollywood and Highland (#2), 1986, printed 1994

Not on view
Jim Goldberg, Hollywood and Highland (#2), 1986, printed 1994, gelatin silver print

Family Bonds

These works remind us to share the love with our families, whether biological or chosen.

Nancy Andrews, Nelita Williams and Barbara Hudson, 1993

Not on view
Nancy Andrews, Nelita Williams and Barbara Hudson, 1993, gelatin silver print

Mary Cassatt, Maternal Caress, 1890-1891

Not on view

Mary Cassatt, Maternal Caress, 1890-1891, color drypoint and aquatint on laid paper, download image

Bessie Potter Vonnoh, The Kiss, 1906

Not on view
Bessie Potter Vonnoh, The Kiss, 1906, bronze

In François-Hubert Drouais’s self-portrait with his family, the French painter’s daughter gifts her mother a bouquet of flowers, while Drouais reads her a poem, or possibly a love letter.

François-Hubert Drouais, Family Portrait, 1756

Not on view
François-Hubert Drouais, Family Portrait, 1756, oil on canvas, download image

James Van Der Zee, Portrait of a Family, c. 1940

Not on view
James Van Der Zee, Portrait of a Family, c. 1940, gelatin silver print

Charles A. Nast, Detroit Photographic Company, Ute Chief Severo and Family, c. 1885, published 1900

Not on view
Charles A. Nast, Detroit Photographic Company, Ute Chief Severo and Family, c. 1885, published 1900, photo-chromolithograph

“Palentine’s” Day

Celebrate the one you love like a sibling, whether it be by enjoying an ice cream cone like friends in American artist Isabel Bishop’s drawing below or just spending some time together as in Sisters by French impressionist painter Berthe Morisot.

Berthe Morisot, The Sisters, 1869

On view: West Building, Main Floor - Gallery 89
Berthe Morisot, The Sisters, 1869, oil on canvas, download image

Isabel Bishop, Friends, 1942

Not on view
Isabel Bishop, Friends, 1942, etching in black with pen and black ink on laid paper

Marie Laurencin, In the Park, 1924

On view: East Building, Ground Level - Gallery 103D
Marie Laurencin, In the Park, 1924, oil on canvas

Broken Hearts

Artists like Norwegian painter and printmaker Edvard Munch have illustrated the longing for love, while a 16th-century drawing called “Do Not Eat Your Heart Out” reminds us not to get too sad. The unknown French artist shows a woman using giant forceps to remove a bleeding heart.

Edvard Munch, The Heart (Hjertet), 1898 - 1899

Not on view
Edvard Munch, Girl with the Heart (Das Mädchen und das Herz), 1899, woodcut in black, green, and red on Japan paper

French early 16th Century, "Do Not Eat Your Heart Out" [fol. 22 recto], c. 1512/1515

Not on view
French early 16th Century, “Do Not Eat Your Heart Out” [fol. 22 recto], c. 1512/1515, pen and brown ink with watercolor on laid paper, download image

Gerald Leslie Brockhurst, Le Béguin (The Crush), 1921

Not on view
Gerald Leslie Brockhurst, Le Béguin (The Crush), 1921, etching in black on laid paper

Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Seated Youth, 1917

On view: East Building, Mezzanine - Gallery 217A
Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Seated Youth, 1917, composite tinted plaster, download image

Newlyweds

Wedding bells are ringing in James Van Der Zee’s and Leonard Freed’s photographs of brides and grooms. Or in the case of Antoine Watteau’s drawing of a wedding procession, a lute player serenades the couple on their way to say their vows.

James Van Der Zee, Wedding Day, Harlem, 1926, printed 1974

Not on view
James Van Der Zee, Wedding Day, Harlem, 1926, printed 1974, gelatin silver print

Antoine Watteau, The Wedding Procession, c. 1712

Not on view
Antoine Watteau, The Wedding Procession, c. 1712, red chalk over red chalk counterproof on laid paper, download image

Leonard Freed, Police officer and bride at their wedding, Long Island, New York, 1979

Not on view
Leonard Freed, Police officer and bride at their wedding, Long Island, New York, 1979, gelatin silver print

Perfect Pairs

Couples are the subject of paintings by Washington, DC–based artist Lois Mailou Jones and French artist Pablo Picasso. 

Lois Mailou Jones, The Lovers (Somali Friends), 1950

Not on view
Lois Mailou Jones, The Lovers (Somali Friends), 1950, casein on canvas

Pablo Picasso, The Lovers, 1923

On view: East Building, Ground Level - Gallery 103B
Pablo Picasso, The Lovers, 1923, oil on linen

American 20th Century, "?? I can't tell you why I love you...", c. 1900-1910

Not on view
American 20th Century, “?? I can't tell you why I love you...”, c. 1900-1910, gelatin silver print

Nancy Andrews’s photograph of Gean Harwood and Bruhs Mero is part of a series of portraits of the gay and lesbian community in America in 1980s and 1990s.

Nancy Andrews, Gean Harwood and Bruhs Mero, 1993

Not on view
Nancy Andrews, Gean Harwood and Bruhs Mero, 1993, gelatin silver print

Missed Connections

Sometimes, it’s not meant to be. Italian Renaissance painter Titian’s Venus and Adonis shows the goddess clinging to her love before he leaves for a hunt, never to return. Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens’s Agrippina and Germanicus is an imagined double portrait of the husband and wife. Or could it be a portrait of other star-crossed lovers? Hear scholar Mary Beard’s theory about the painting.

Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Agrippina and Germanicus, c. 1614

On view: West Building, Main Floor - Gallery 45
Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Agrippina and Germanicus, c. 1614, oil on panel, download image

Sunil Gupta, Untitled #1, 1988, printed 2020

On view: West Building, Ground Floor - Gallery 28
Sunil Gupta, Untitled #1, 1988, printed 2020, inkjet print

Titian and Workshop, Venus and Adonis, c. 1540s/c. 1560-1565

On view: West Building, Main Floor - Gallery 23
Titian and Workshop, Venus and Adonis, c. 1540s/c. 1560-1565, oil on canvas, download image

Vintage Valentines

Need some inspiration for your valentine? Browse some examples, or put pen to paper and send a letter via carrier pigeon as the women are preparing to do in French rococo artist François Boucher’s The Love Letter. Washington, DC, master printmaker Lou Stovall’s vibrant screenprint is topped with the simple words “I Love You."

Lou Stovall, I Love You, 1970

Not on view
Lou Stovall, I Love You, 1970, color screenprint on wove paper

Charles White, Love Letter, 1971

Not on view
Charles White, Love Letter, 1971, color lithograph

Inez McCombs, Valentine in Shadow Box, c. 1938

Not on view
Inez McCombs, Valentine in Shadow Box, c. 1938, watercolor and graphite on paper, download image

Manuel G. Runyan, Bookmark (Valentine), c. 1938

Not on view
Manuel G. Runyan, Bookmark (Valentine), c. 1938, watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paper, download image

Discover more hidden treasures

Top image: Lois Mailou Jones, The Lovers (Somali Friends), 1950, casein on canvas, not on view

February 09, 2023