Visiting with Old Friends

One of my favorite museums in Washington D.C. is the National Gallery of Art. While other people flock to the International Spy Museum, the new Newseum, and the Holocaust Museum (all of which cost more than $15), I cherish the renewal of my mind, spirit, and soul as I absorb the masterful works of art on display—and pay only the $1.35 metro fee that lands me a few blocks away. (Correction: the Holocaust Museum is no charge.) This past weekend, with the weather hovering at a “Comfort” Level of over one hundred degrees (Comfort? Who are they kidding?), the museum offers the added bonus of a temperature and humidity-controlled environment.

This is the third time I’ve visited the National Gallery of Art in the last 3 years. When I go, it’s like visiting familiar friends. With each visit I renew my friendship and understanding, say “Ah, yes, this is why you appeal to me.” The playful French, the passionate Italian and Spanish, the precision of the German and the life-like images of the Dutch—I love them all. Here’s a smattering of some favorites. I took all of these photos two years ago with a point-and-shoot, hand-held digital camera using natural light. It’s tough to get sharp images, but you’re not allowed to use a tripod or a flash.


In a nod to the recent shark attach at our beach, I was pulled instantly to this sensational oil (John Copley Singleton, Watson and the Shark, 1778). The painting is based on a true event, the 1749 attack on 14-year-old Brook Watson while swimming in Havana Harbor.


Spanish artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo painted Two Women at a Window (c. 1655/1660). It is unclear whether or not the scene depicts a young woman with a laughing chaperone in innocent play or a young courtesan attempting to lure a customer. I love the expression on the young woman's face.


The incredible still life by Flemish painter Osias Beert the Elder (Dishes with Oysters, Fruit, and Wine, c. 1620/1625) is a rich and gorgeous depiction of 17th century food. I love the detail.


Orazio Gentileschi's The Lute Player (c. 1612/1620) is more about the woman than the lute. The detail of her dress, how it’s constructed, and the rich folds of the heavy cloth and the warmth it exudes are pleasing.


The Square of Saint Mark’s, Venice (1742/1744) is by Italian painter Canaletto. I love the grandness of the square, the open sky, and the people going about their lives.


Finally, I must choose at least one Impressionist painting. This one, Girl Arranging Her Hair (1886) is by Mary Cassatt, an American. I love the colorful, playful, and vibrant tones of impressionist painting.

My Butt is Sore But My Beer Is Cold

“At least your beer is cold,” and what else can you really say? Alternatively entitled “A Fun Activity in the Washington D.C. Environs,” let me suggest a great excursion for those who enjoy bike riding.

Daingerfield Island/Washington Sailing Marina is just south of Reagan Washington National Airport off Highway 1 at the junction of the Potomac River and Four Mile Run. There you can rent bicycles and ride along the Mount Vernon Trail, following the Potomac River either north to Theodore Roosevelt Island or south to Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home. The paved trail is shared by bikers, runners, skaters, walkers, and casual strollers, so on sunny weekend days you have to be alert for others.Gravelly Point is a short bike ride north from Daingerfield Island and offers an up-close and personal view of landing aircraft into Reagan National. I mean up-close. Park your bike and reach out and touch the aircraft. Get an appreciation for all the variables that go into landing a big hunk of steel.

We didn’t do that this time. Instead, we opted for the path south, a 25-mile roundtrip excursion to Mount Vernon (hence, the sore butt). The pathway is picturesque and mostly flat, with a small portion following Union Street in downtown Alexandria. The path follows the Potomac, taking you through Belle Haven Park, Dyke Marsh Preserve, Collingwood Picnic Area, and Riverside Park. After a final up-hill stretch, you reach Mount Vernon (where you can relax amongst the tourists or at least buy a beverage).The return trip fortunately ends at the sailing marina, where you can get a well-deserved cold beer, off-setting a bit the sore butt and stiff legs.

Patriotism and Peace

Washington D.C. is a city you can get around in. I used a combination of the Virginia commuter train from Fredericksburg, the metro, and my own two feet. As I strolled downtown Washington D. C., I turned the corner on G Street and saw Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace billboard beaming out from the Verizon Center. It will be on display through April 29.
Washington D.C. makes me patriotic. I decided to visit the National Portrait Gallery and the American Art Museum, both housed in the Smithsonian Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture. The building has been recently renovated. It is the original Patent Office Building and said to be a “masterpiece of Greek Revival design.” It was constructed between 1836 and 1868. You can read more about this amazing building and its history here.

This is two museums in one, and as such, demands multiple visits to absorb all that it has to offer. Here is a sample from the Smithsonian American Art Museum entitled 'October' (1867, artist John Whetter Ehninger).
Like many D.C. museums, this one is free, although its hours, 11:30Am – 7:00PM, are a bit odd. (Okay, I admit it. I showed up at 9:00AM thinking I could perhaps visit a second museum later in the day.)

The building itself is stunning, with a sweeping staircase and an upper floor with vaulted ceilings.

My first interest, however, was the America’s Presidents exhibition, the only complete collection of presidential portraits outside the White House. Each portrait also includes a plaque telling you something about the president. Here is a portrait of James Monroe (1816, artist John Vanderlyn).

It’s interesting to go through. You realize there are some presidents you don’t think about very much—when’s the last time you thought about Millard Fillmore (13th, not nominated for a second term) or William Henry Harrison (9th, died in office and served only one month) or even Chester A. Arthur (21st, not nominated for a second term)?

Things change a bit when you get to presidents who served during your lifetime. Everybody remembers where they were or what they were doing when Kennedy got shot (okay, if you were alive you remember).

You remember the disgrace of Nixon (“I am not a crook!”) and the fact that he is the only president (so far) who has resigned. His portrait in the gallery is admittedly small, but tasteful and certainly flattering. He is credited for opening relationships with China. His successor, Gerald Ford, is the only president not elected either vice president or president (he was appointed vice president when Agnew resigned and succeeded Nixon when Nixon resigned). Ford pardoned Nixon and gave amnesty to the Vietnam War resisters.

What kind of portrait and what little tidbit are “they” going to write about the current Bush? (One website kindly noted that he once owned part interest in the Texas Rangers baseball team. Is that an accomplishment?) And if Buchanan is signaled out as being a contender for Worst President Ever because he helped start a civil war . . . wait! Didn’t Bush start a civil war in Iraq?

Let’s not belabor the obvious. On a more patriotic note, here is a license plate speak mural in the American Art section that displays the Preamble to the Constitution (Preamble, 1987, Mike Wilkins, sculptor). You can see the real thing (the real Preamble and the real Constitution) in the National Archives.

God Bless America.