National Gallery of Art Jazz in the Garden in August

Need a spot to hang out in the breezes and enjoy music. Head over to the National Gallery of Art to hear
Jazz in the Garden on Friday evenings in August.

National Gallery of Art 
Jazz in the Garden in August
Fridays, 5:00 - 8:30pm
Rain or shine

August 6
Bjorn Solli
Norwegian jazz guitarist

August 13
Carsten Boe Trio
Django jazz from Oslo, Norway

August 20
Pete BarenBregge
ensemble avante-garde
 
August 27
Miles Stiebel
smooth jazz violinist

Concerts take place in front of the Pavilion CaféThere is no charge for the jazz performances
Sculpture Garden hours are extended to 9:30pm

Picnickers may bring blankets
Alcoholic beverages and coolers are not permitted
The Pavilion Café and carts located on the patios offer a seasonal light fare menu and cold beverages

National Gallery of Art
Constitution Avenue between Third and Seventh Streets
202.737.4215
www.nga.gov
Metro:  Archives-Navy Mem'l-Penn Quarter

Beat It: Howl in the City - Modern Luxury Washington DC - Style

Beat It: Howl in the City - Modern Luxury Washington DC - Style

July 23-24, 8PM; tickets $10.

In honor of the National Gallery of Art’s landmark exhibition, Beat Memories: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg, literary hotspot Busboys and Poets hosts the two-night performance showcase, Howl in the City. Renowned poet Anne Waldman, a friend of Ginsberg’s and one of few females of beatnik bravado, will perform the epic poem accompanied by a string quartet. The series’ second night will feature a free patio performance by musician Kyp Malone of alternative rock band, TV on the Radio.

@ Busboys and Poets (Mount Vernon Triangle)
1025 5th St., NW, 202.332.6432,
busboysandpoets.com.

Elson Lecture @ National Gallery of Art

 Elson Lecture @ National Gallery of Art

March 25, 3:30pm
Susan Rothenberg: A Life in Painting
Harry Cooper, curator and head of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art and Susan Rothenberg, artist
East Building Concourse, Auditorium

The Elson Lecture Series features distinguished contemporary artists whose work is represented in the Gallery's permanent collection.

For the past 30 years, Susan Rothenberg has expanded the poetic and painterly possibilities of her craft. Her first solo exhibition met with great acclaim for its three large paintings of horses in stark silhouette. Coming at a time when minimal and conceptual art dominated the New York scene, these works anticipated and sparked trends in painting in the 1980s. Rothenberg's works celebrate the process of painting. In 1990 she moved to rural New Mexico with her husband, artist Bruce Nauman, and her work changed, reflecting her new environment; her paintings increasingly incorporated narrative and memory. Two important paintings by Rothenberg are in the National Gallery's collection: Butterfly (1976), currently on loan to the White House, and Head within Head (1978), on view in the East Building.


National Gallery of Art
Constitution Avenue between Third and Seventh Streets
202.737.4215
www.nga.gov
Metro:  Archives-Navy Mem'l-Penn Quarter

The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: Selected Works

October 1, 2009 - May 2, 2010

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
East Building, Mezzanine and Upper Level

Ten themes—Scrape, Concentricity, Line, Gesture, Art on Art, Drip, Stripe to Zip, Figure or Ground, Monochrome, and Picture the Frame—illuminate specific works across the Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection. The resulting juxtapositions, often surprising and provocative, provide a new way to tell the story of postwar American art, and of a great collection. Through remarkable acuity, exhaustive study, and close relationships with the artists, the Meyerhoffs amassed one of the most outstanding collections of modern art, with an emphasis on six American masters: Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Brice Marden, Robert Rauschenberg, and Frank Stella, in addition to important works by leading abstract expressionists and younger artists. A number of the ten themes concern the material process of creation, others address issues of form and composition, and still others extend past material and formal issues to broach the self-reflexive aspects of modernist painting. Some 126 paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints include several acquisitions made after the collection was last highlighted in a major exhibition at the Gallery in 1996. All of the works in the exhibition have been donated or promised to the National Gallery of Art and continue to shape and greatly enhance the Gallery's modern and contemporary collection.

www.nga.gov/exhibitions/meyerhoffinfo.htm

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
4th & Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20565 | Map
Free Admission www.nga.gov

Renaissance high-def: Tullio's moving portraits in marble | Washington Examiner

Renaissance high-def: Tullio's moving portraits in marble | Washington Examiner
By: Robin Tierney
Special to The Examiner, July 27, 2009

Shock value? That's kids' stuff. Back in Renaissance Venice, this was the ultimate challenge: create a beauty so ideal that onlookers would get emotionally involved, even fall in love.

One sculptor made that his mission.

If you go

"An Antiquity of Imagination: Tullio Lombardo and Venetian High Renaissance Sculpture"

Where: National Gallery of Art, West Building, Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW

When: Through Nov. 1

Info: Free; 202-737-4215; nga.gov

NEW VIDEO PODCAST: TALK ABOUT ART

Talk About Art is a six-minute documentary film that highlights the views of visitors to the National Gallery of Art. Among those who share their thoughts on art are people from all walks of life—including (printmaker Lou Stovall), students, a taxi driver, an architect, a security guard, and a hairdresser. These are not art historians, but art is a common bond for them, and clearly a force in their lives. For some, art is a way to connect to the past; for others, it is a way to see the world around them in a different way. Listening to their side of the museum experience may get you talking about art as well.
www.nga.gov/podcasts/index.shtm#talk

National Gallery of Art
Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20565

National Gallery of Art Lectures in July

Close Encounters-of an Artistic Kind Lecture Series
The department of adult programs staff explores the intertwined works of art and their creators.

July 12, 2:00pm
Russell Sale, lecturer, National Gallery of Art
Early Master Pieces in the National Gallery of Art, and the Ensembles from Which They Came

July 19, 2:00pm
Wilford W. Scott, head of adult programs
The Painter and the Photographer: Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz

July 26, 2:00pm
Christopher With, coordinator of art information
The Crucible of Viennese Modernism: Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Oskar Kokoschka


Lectures take place in the East Building Concourse Auditorium and are open to the public at no charge. Seating is available on a first-come, first-seated basis. Registration is not required.


National Gallery of Art
Constitution Avenue between Third and Seventh Streets
202.737.4215
www.nga.gov
Metro: Archives-Navy Mem'l-Penn Quarter

Jazz in the Garden in July / National Gallery of Art

Fridays, 5:00 - 8:30pm
Rain or shine

July 3
Bio Ritmo
hot salsa

July 10
Days Ahead
jazz and R & B vocalist

July 17
Marty Nau
jazz saxophonist

July 24
Young Lions
fusion rock / jazz

July 31
Dixie Power Trio
traditional jazz

Concerts take place in front of the Pavilion Café
There is no charge for the jazz performances
Sculpture Garden hours are extended to 9:30pm

Picnickers may bring blankets
Alcoholic beverages and coolers are not permitted
The Pavilion Café and carts located on the patios offer a seasonal light fare menu
and cold beverages


National Gallery of Art
Constitution Avenue between Third and Seventh Streets
202.737.4215
www.nga.gov

Leo Villareal's Multiverse

Today, I went to the National Gallery of Art to see Heaven on Earth: Manuscript Illuminations from the National Gallery of Art and the Phillip Guston Focus Exhibition in the Tower Gallery, both excellent choices for an art outing!

I was also delighted by the LED light show on the Concourse walkway between the East and West Buildings by New York artist, Leo Villareal. Mesmerized and enchanted, I watched as folks came and went through the galactic portal. My photo alludes to the experience and I recommend you go see it and experience this playful piece before the lights go out in November. It was worth several trips around the walkway to watch the patterns play out in the lights. I left the museum with a lighthearted step and a feeling of wonder. Now, maybe I'll go star gazing.



Leo Villareal Multiverse (2008), a new light sculpture created for the underground walkway between the East and West Buildings of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

Multiverse, the largest and most complex light sculpture created by American artist Leo Villareal (b. 1967) may now be experienced by visitors as they pass through the Concourse walkway between the East and West Buildings of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Commissioned by the Gallery and on view for one year, the work features approximately 41,000 computer-programmed LED nodes that run through channels along the entire 200-foot-long space. The development of this LED (light–emitting diode) project began three years ago and the installation created by Villareal specifically for this location began last September.

"Multiverse creates an exuberant and mesmerizing environment which transforms the experience of its space, and several thousand visitors to the Gallery have seen this very special installation by Leo Villareal since it was debuted in late November," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. “We are extremely grateful to the board members who generously funded this project, to the members of our staff who worked diligently on it over the last three years, and to Leo for creating this beautiful work.”

The project was overseen by Molly Donovan, associate curator in the department of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art.

The Gallery has created a special Web feature at www.nga.gov/villareal that includes a 3-D simulation of the installation, as well as an interview with the artist in his studio in which he talks about his background, influences, process, and the installation at the Gallery.

The National Gallery of Art National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW

(202) 737-4215

A Conversation with Artist Robert Frank

Thursday, March 26, 3:30pm
East Building Auditorium

In connection with the exhibition Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans, on view through April 26, the museum welcomes Robert Frank as part of the Elson Lecture series. Frank will discuss his work and the exhibition with Sarah Greenough, senior curator and head of the museum's department of photographs.

This program is free and open to the public; seating is first-come, first-served
in the East Building Auditorium

Information on the exhibition
www.nga.gov/press/exh/263/index.htm


National Gallery of Art
Constitution Avenue between Third and Seventh Streets
202.737.4215
www.nga.gov
Metro: Archives-Navy Mem'l-Penn Quarter

National Gallery of Art Celebrating African American History

Americans have recognized black history annually since 1926.... currently as African American History Month. We owe the celebration and study of Black history to Dr. Carter G. Woodson, known as the father of Black History Month. He spent his childhood working in the Kentucky coal mines, enrolled in high school at age twenty and graduated within two years. In 1912, he earned a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University.

Special Presentations
February 11, 9:15am
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
Ms. Camille Giraud Akeju, director, talks about the museum situated in one of the District of Columbia's largely African American neighborhoods that documents, preserves, and interprets African American history from local and community history perspectives.

February 23, 9:15am
D.C.'s Deaf Community and Gallaudet University
Dr. Sandra Jowers-Barber, assistant professor of history, University of the District of Columbia, offers insight into the history of African American deaf presence at Gallaudet University

The Collecting of African American Art Lecture Series
February 15, 2:00pm
Collecting as a Way of Life
Juliette Bethea, collector, in conversation with Ruth Fine, curator of special projects in modern art, National Gallery of Art

February 22, 2:00pm
The Art of Collecting
Harmon and Harriet Kelley, collectors, in conversation with Deborah Willis, university professor and chair, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University

National Gallery of Art

Constitution Avenue between Third and Seventh Streets
202.737.4215
www.nga.gov

IN THE TOWER: PHILIP GUSTON

NEW EXHIBITION, VIDEO, AND PODCAST:

An exhibition, on view February 1 through September 13, 2009, of work by American artist Philip Guston (1913–1980) launches a series of shows in the East Building Tower Gallery that will focus on developments in art since 1970. A video screened in the exhibition explores Guston's life and the inspiration for his work. The artist is also discussed by Barbara Tempchin and Harry Cooper, curator of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art, in a Backstory podcast.
(exhibition information)
(audio podcast)
(video)

National Gallery of Art
East Building, Tower Gallery
Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC

Oceans, Rivers, and Skies: Ansel Adams, Robert Adams, and Alfred Stieglitz,

October 12, 2008 – March 15, 2009

Three important and beautiful series of black-and-white landscape photographs are showcased in Oceans, Rivers, and Skies: Ansel Adams, Robert Adams, and Alfred Stieglitz. This focus exhibition features 21 works in chronological order: ten by Alfred Stieglitz (1864–1946), five by Ansel Adams (1902–1984), and six by Robert Adams (b. 1937). The three series have never before been exhibited together, and Stieglitz's Music: A Sequence of Ten Cloud Photographs was last seen in its entirety in 1923.

National Gallery of Art
(West Building Ground Floor Gallery G34)
Washington, DC

Attend a Gallery Talk
Oceans, Rivers, and Skies: Ansel Adams, Robert Adams, and Alfred Stieglitz
October 28–30 at 12:00PM
(50 minutes)
West Building Main Floor, Rotunda
Diane Arkin

Gallery Talks: Martin Puryear

If you haven't yet seen the exhibition of wood sculpture by Martin Puryear at the National Gallery of Art, I'd hop the metro and plan to spend an hour wandering thru this Washington born artist's installation. This is the first American retrospective of the artist's work in more than 15 years. There's a large ebony head form, which I love, that is ripe with sensual overtones and a delight to observe for its simplicity and poetic vision. Also catch the 36-foot-long ash and maple Ladder sculpture in the Rotunda. Many of the sculptures are woven together in a lattice-like style. It's a very impressive exhibit and worth repeat visits. A catalogue of the exhibition is available in the museum shop.

Gallery Talks:
August 4, 6, 8, 21, 26, 29 at 1:00PM
August 12–14 at 12:00PM
(60 minutes)
West Building Main Floor, Rotunda
by Sally Shelburne, Diane Arkin, David Gariff, or Jennifer Riddell

National Gallery of Art
Constitution Avenue between Third and Seventh Streets
202.737.4215

Lecture: Aux Trois Crayons

The Grammar of Color
Lecture: Aux Trois Crayons: The History, Science, and Technique of the Three Naturally-Occurring Chalks in Traditional 14th-19th Century Old Master Drawing.

Speaker: Timothy David Mayhew

Date/Location: Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 2:00 pm in the West Building Lecture Hall

Mr. Mayhew is a talented researcher and artist who has done extensive work on the subject of natural chalks. He will provide great insight into the origin and use of these art materials, focusing on the dynamic range and effects that can be achieved with natural chalks.

National Gallery of Art
West Building Lecture Hall

Gabriel Figueroa at NGA

June 7, 14, 15, 28, 2008

The central cinematographer of Mexico's golden age of cinema, Gabriel Figueroa (1907–1997), played a key role in establishing the nation's visual heritage. A brilliant master of chiaroscuro, he developed a unique style based on his principle of “curvilinear perspective” that merged the latest Hollywood technique with the pictorial art of Mexican muralists Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and Rufino Tamayo. Figueroa's commitment to Mexican national identity and his country's social issues remained firm: “My art has Mexican nationalism engraved everywhere.” He broke new ground and left an indelible mark on cinematography around the world. The Gallery's presentation of six restored 35mm prints is made possible through the cooperation of the Mexican Cultural Institute and Filmoteca de la UNAM. Special thanks to Ivan Trujillo, José Manuel Garcia, Linda Lilienfeld, and Pablo Gutierrez Fierro. An exhibition of Figueroa's work at the Mexican Cultural Institute, 2829 16th Street NW, Washington, DC, will take place from November 2008 through January 2009. Gabriel Figueroa: Cinematographer is composed largely of still photographs, posters, and archival documents and is one of the most comprehensive retrospectives ever of the work of this Mexican artist.

National Gallery of Art
East Building Concourse, Large Auditorium
4th and Constitution Av., NW
Washington, D.C. 20565
For more information log to: http://www.nga.gov/programs/film/gabriel_figueroa.shtm


Enamorada
June 7 at 2:00PM

An interesting remake of The Taming of the Shrew set in a Mexican village during the Juárez revolution, Enamorada glows with the radiant María Félix as the spoiled landowner's daughter and Pedro Armendáriz as her pursuer, General Reyes. Figueroa's cinematography is the focal point, capturing the village's churrigueresque cathedrals, the revolution's animated atmosphere, and, noted one writer, “an extreme close up of María's famously arched brow and moonlit eyes set into a landscape of Mexicanidad.” (Emilio Fernández, 1946, Spanish with subtitles, 35mm, 98 minutes)


La Perla (The Pearl)
June 7 at 4:00PM

John Steinbeck's The Pearl (he also co-wrote the screenplay) provided the inspiration for this tender tale of a penniless diver named Quino (Pedro Armendáriz) whose joyful discovery of the title's immensely valuable jewel only brings sadness to his life. The tragedy, set against Mexico’s west coast landscapes, develops a pace and style that conveys the power of its earthy premise—man struggling against his inevitable fate. Figueroa counted La Perla among his favorite films. (Emilio Fernández, 1947, Spanish with subtitles, 35mm, 85 minutes)


Nazarín
June 14 at 2:00PM

In the poverty-stricken backwoods of turn-of-the-century Mexico, priest Don Nazario's obsessive devotion to his own Christian principles produces calamity all around him. Figueroa's lens moves away from the imposing landscapes of his earlier work with Fernández, emphasizing instead the actors who, notes one critic, “constantly arrange and rearrange themselves in approximations of an early Renaissance triptych”—a typically ambiguous layout from Spanish surrealist Buñuel. (Luis Buñuel, 1958, Spanish with subtitles, 35mm, 94 minutes)


Another Dawn (Distinto Amanecer)
June 15 at 4:00PM

Distinto Amanecer's tale of labor union intrigue and corporate crime is set in the shadowy cabarets of Mexico City where Pedro Armendáriz, haunted by sleazy government officials and aided by sultry Andrea Palma, probes the murder of a friend. Although usually associated with dramatic Mexican skies and rural landscapes, Figueroa was equally adept at capturing bright lights and dark alleys for the noirish melodramas of Mexico's golden age. (Julio Bracho, 1943, Spanish with subtitles, 35mm, 108 minutes) Antonio Saborit, Dirección de Estudios Históricos, Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, México City, will introduce the film.


Macario
also Days of Autumn
June 28 at 3:00PM

A short story by B. Traven lies at the heart of Marcario, a mythical tale about a peasant's chance encounter with the Grim Reaper. When Death grants him magical healing powers, Marcario is powerless to defend himself against the church and the local villagers who accuse him of heresy. Figueroa's chiaroscuro, suitably otherworldly, won an Oscar nomination for best cinematography. (Roberto Gavaldón, 1959, Spanish with subtitles, 35mm, 91 minutes) Gabriel Figueroa Flores, son of the cinematographer, will introduce the screening.

Director Gavaldón teamed up once more with Figueroa and the cast of Macario to make this graceful melodrama about a country girl (Pina Pellicer) who comes to Mexico City, finds work in a pastry shop, and builds a happy life. When her fiancé seemingly deserts her on their wedding day, her fantasies take over and mingle with fact (or perhaps fact was fantasy all along). Emotional moments are made memorable by Pellicer's intimate acting and by Figueroa's beautiful interiors and bright urban streets. (Roberto Gavaldón, 1962, Spanish with subtitles, 35mm, 92 minutes)





Afghanistan Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul

National Gallery of Art
May 25–September 7, 2008

Some 228 extraordinary artifacts unearthed in modern Afghanistan—most on view for the first time in the United States—attest to the region's importance as a vital and ancient crossroads of trade routes known as the Silk Road, which stretched from Asia to the Mediterranean. Many of the objects were long thought to have been stolen or destroyed during some 25 years of conflict until they were dramatically recovered from a vault under the Presidential Palace in 2004.

The National Gallery of Art, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 7th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, is 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.
4th and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20565
(202) 737-4215

National Gallery of Art Lecture

November 19, 12:10pm and 1:10pm

Works in Progress
Andrew Krieger: Deep Ellum and Acceptable Detours en Route
Andrew Krieger, senior art services specialist, National Gallery of Art; East Building Small Auditorium


National Gallery of Art
Constitution Avenue between Third and Seventh Streets
202.737.4215

The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888–1978: From the Collection of Robert E. Jackson

through December 31, 2007

Approximately 200 snapshot photographs chronicle the evolution of snapshot photography from 1888, when George Eastman first introduced the Kodak camera and roll film, through the 1970s. Examine the range and creativity of amateur snapshot photography in our interactive feature about the exhibition.
http://www.nga.gov/snapshot

Kool Web Book Feature - check it out!

National Gallery of Art
4th and Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC
(202) 737-4215

Joseph Mallord William Turner / National Gallery of Art

October 1, 2007 - January 6, 2008.

The exhibition J .M. W. Turner is the most comprehensive survey of Turner's work ever presented in the United States. More than 145 paintings and watercolors reveal the astonishing talent and imagination of this artist.

The National Gallery of Art and Sculpture Garden
4th and Constitution Avenue NW
(National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW)
Washington, DC.
(202) 737-4215