by Doug and I visited the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, after a long day walking around the city, which is, admittedly, not the best time to slow down and look at art — especially this much.
The museums share space in the old Patent Office building. Both are part of the Smithsonian Institution and are free to visit.
We are really enjoying seeings connections with works we’ve seen elsewhere in travels. For instance, we’d never heard of George Morris until visiting his home and studio earlier this year, but who should we find hanging in the Smithsonian? The cover photo to this post is Morris’ Industrial Landscape, 1936-1950.
The National Portrait Gallery focuses on “portraits of individuals who have made significant contributions to the history, development, and culture of the people of the United States.”
Its collection was seeded by Andrew Mellon, who made a large donation of art in 1937, including enough art to also kickstart the National Gallery of Art.
It took another 30 years, however, for the National Portrait Gallery to get up and running.
It’s the only museum of its kind in the United States, and has over 23,000 items in its collection. Its “America’s Presidents” exhibit is a cornerstone, being the only complete collection of presidential portraits outside the White House. This is a big reason why we visited –– I wanted to see the Barack and Michele Obama portraits.
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has more than 7,000 artists in its collection, which spans the colonial period to the present day.
