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National Gallery of Art and Sculpture Garden

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Editor Pick

Architecture of the East Building: Variations on an Isosceles Triangle

  • February 25, 2009
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Idler from Poolesville, Maryland
Architecture of the East Building: Variations on an Isosceles Triangle

Famed architect I.M. Pei's love affair with geometrical forms is evident in the repeated use of triangles in the East Building. Actually, the triangle-based layout of the building was an ingenious answer to a challenging problem that Pei faced -- an oddly-shaped site across from the old (now West) building of the National Gallery of Art. The limitations of the site presented multiple challenges. Somehow he had to link it visually with the old gallery, and yet it had to fit in with the surrounding buildings on the Mall as well. With nearby heavy hitters such as the Capitol dome to contend with, the new museum also needed to stand out somehow, to make its own architectural statement.

Enter the simple isosceles triangle, used to divide the essentially trapezoidal site into two sections, the larger triangle containing the gallery per se, and the second triangle housing offices and a research center. While the older West Building is a forthright, four-cornered building, almost staid and predictable in its traditional right angles, Pei’s building reads differently from each perspective, presenting complex, almost shifting triangular shapes. The East Gallery is now widely hailed as one of the finest modern buildings in the country.

Within the triangular components are – you guessed it – more triangles. Entering the main building, the visitor enters a world of almost animated fractal geometry, with the interplay of light and shadows creating interesting resonances within the larger space. I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to speak of harmonics here, as the building seems to resonate, particularly in the large, brightly lit atrium, which features a strategically placed mobile by Alexander Calder. Calder designed this mobile specifically for this space, and it’s wonderfully successful, always in perpetual slow and stately motion, powered only by the air currents in the building.

Another feature that is striking is the roof over the atrium, an impressive array of interlocking triangular shapes. The glass ceiling casts triangular shadows on the marble walls and onto the tiles of the triangular-tiled floor. If anything, one could fault the almost obsessive use of triangles in the building.

But I can’t. I love it.

On a number of occasions, I’ve come into the East Building not to see anything in particular (though I may browse through an exhibit or two), but to just stroll in the atrium and look around. The atrium and upper levels are particularly restful, cool sanctuaries on a hot summer's day.

My most recent visit was to see an exhibit (which runs through March 22, 2009) entitled, "Pompei and the Roman Villa." Alas, it seemed that nearly everyone in town had had the same brainwave of the ideal way to spend a Sunday afternoon in February, and the exhibit was packed. I walked quickly through what seemed like the cramped exhibit space (it isn't, it just seems that way in contrast to the atrium), coming out with relief onto the mezzanine level of the gallery.

There I found a bench overlooking the atrium and simply sat waiting for my husband to emerge from the exhibit. I happily contemplated the shadows cast from the ceiling, the lovely way the staircases and walkways traversed the open space, and the infinite leit motif of triangles. Really, I have to say that at times the building itself upstages almost everything else.

Outside, across a street paved with cobblestones, is another delightful feature. There are seven glass tetrahedron sculptures in the plaza, each catching myriad reflections of the surrounding buildings, the sky, and people standing next to them. These playful structures are a huge hit with children, who often play a sort of fun-house-mirror hide-and-seek among the sculptures, but they also have a very practical purpose, serving as skylights for a subterranean concourse level that lies between the old and new galleries. In fact, the fountain next to the tetrahedrons flows down to form a glassed-in waterfall visible in the gallery cafeteria below.

While I’m not a big fan of the large museum cafeterias in general, I’ve always thought the subterranean waterfall in the National Gallery’s cafeteria is one of the nicer surprises on the Mall.

A second favorite surprise, by the way, can be seen in the Sculpture Garden next to the West Gallery. There, if you walk slowly by an outdoor sculpture by Roy Lichtenstein entitled, "House 1," you’ll find it.

Sorry, but I’m not telling. It is, after all, a surprise.

From journal The Great Indoors

Editor Pick

National Gallery of Art

  • April 6, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by sararevell from London, United Kingdom
The National Gallery of Art is an enormous museum, encompassing two buildings - the original West Building and the more contemporary East Building - as well as an exterior Sculpture Garden. We entered the West Building on the Madison Drive side and checked our bag in at the cloakroom next to the magnificent Rotunda. Thick columns surround the fountain centerpiece, crowned with a statue of Mercury who looks lost under the vast dome that rises over his head.


At the time of its completion, the West Building was the largest marble structure in the world and even from the outside it towers above its subjects, impressing in the same way that London’s British Museum does.


Feeling a little intimidated by the size of the gallery, we picked up a very handy leaflet that identifies West Building highlights that can be covered in under an hour. Normally I wouldn’t want to rush through such a spectacular collection but we still had the East Building to consider and wanted to squeeze in a visit to the National Air and Space Museum across the way before closing time at 5.30pm.


The leaflet highlighted twelve must-see works, including pieces by da Vinci, Raphael, Rubens, Vermeer, Monet and Cezanne. Audio tours are available for $5 and guided tours run throughout the day focussing on particular collections.


Opened 37 years later in 1978, the East Building is home to the gallery’s modern art and sculpture collections. Here you can find permanent installations of work by Henri Matisse, Alexander Calder and Sol LeWitt. Connecting the two buildings is a cavernous underground concourse level where the busy gallery café and bookshop are located.


The East Building has an obvious modern and brighter feel to it and is also quite a bit busier than the West side. The temporary Edward Hopper exhibition was clearly a big draw and the queue to get in was particularly long. It’s worth checking ahead of time on permanent and temporary exhibitions as some of them have limited opening times or may require passes.


It’s also worth bearing in mind that if you check in your bag in the West Building as we did, it’s quite a long walk back to retrieve it after visiting the East Building. If you only want to do a similar "Highlights" tour you still need about a minimum of two hours to visit both buildings. If you have more time though, it would be easy to dedicate an entire day to the National Gallery and adjacent Sculpture Garden.


www.nga.gov

From journal The Two-Day Tourist in Washington DC

Editor Pick

Special Exhibits at the National Gallery of Art

  • February 10, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by kwasiak from Tucson, Arizona
Special Exhibits at the National Gallery of Art

There are always at least a few special exhibits on display at the National Gallery of Art. To see what is on display when you are planning to visit the National Gallery check their website out at http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/index.shtm. Below is a brief description of the ones that were on display when I visited in early February 2008.

Crosscurrents is a special exhibit on the Ground Floor of the West building. The exhibit is to remain on display on the Ground Floor through January 1, 2009. This exhibit includes American and European paintings from the permanent collection. I found this nice to see when I visited because the American art galleries were closed for renovation and this way I could at least see some American paintings. These paintings are from that part of the building and thus even when this special exhibit closes these paintings will still be on display just back in their home in on the Main Floor. The special exhibit called Homer, Eakins, and Bellows in the East Building is entirely American paintings if that is the type of art you want to see. This exhibit also closes January 1, 2009.

British Picturesque Landscapes is an exhibit on the Ground Floor of the West Building. It is tucked away in the sculpture galleries. The easiest way I know how to explain to get to this one room exhibit is to go through the Chinese pottery exhibit. This exhibit contains books opened to pages that show landscapes. It is on display until February 24, 2008.

The Baroque Woodcut is located in the Special Exhibit space on the Ground Floor of the West Building. This exhibit is on display until March 30, 2008. It contains examples of prints that are made from woodcuts printing blocks. The details on these prints are amazing to think about the work that must have gone into the woodcuts that the prints were made from. I really wish, though, that they had at least one woodcut on display so you can see what the prints are printed from.

Let the World In is located in the Special Exhibit space on the Ground Floor of the West Building. This exhibit is on display until March 30, 2008. This is an interesting exhibit with print media works done by Robert Rauschenberg. They are kind of like collages with different images and words thrown together.

Bronze and Boxwood is an exhibit in the Special Exhibit space on the Main Floor of the West Building. This exhibit is on display until May 4, 2008. This is an exhibit of bronze sculptures, boxwood, and ivory carvings from the Renaissance.

Impressed by Light is an exhibit on the Ground Floor of the West Building. The exhibit displays photos that were made from paper negatives. All the photos were done by British photographers in the mid-1800s.

From journal Weekend at the National Gallery of Art

National Gallery of Art: Sculpture Garden

  • February 10, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by kwasiak from Tucson, Arizona
National Gallery of Art: Sculpture Garden

The Sculpture Garden is located on Constitution Avenue NW between 7th and 9th Streets NW. The garden is open 10am to 5pm Mondays through Saturdays and 11am to 6pm on Sundays.

The garden contains walking paths to stroll along and enjoy the different sculptures in the garden. There is a total of 17 sculptures here, although occasionally one or more is off display for refurbishment or on loan. The sculptures vary in style from the Cluster of Four Cubes that has revolving cube to the Parisian Metro entrance sculpture. One of my favorites is the House sculpture that can appear flat, coming towards you, or going away from you depending on the angle you look at it. Another fun sculpture is the Six-Part Seating, which is the only sculpture you can touch and you are in fact encouraged to sit on these chairs.

In the summer the center of the garden is a fountain, but in the winter this is turned into an ice skating rink. The rink hours are 10am to 9pm Mondays through Thursdays, 10am to 11pm Fridays and Saturdays, and 11am to 9pm on Sundays.

In the garden there is the Pavilion Café where you can sit inside or outside and enjoy a meal or snack. This is a great place to enjoy when the weather is nice and you are tired of being indoors at the National Gallery of Art.

From journal Weekend at the National Gallery of Art

National Gallery of Art: East Building

  • February 10, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by kwasiak from Tucson, Arizona
The East Building of the National Gallery of Art is located on Constitution Avenue NW and Pennsylvania NW between 3rd and 4th Streets NW. The hours are 10am to 5pm Mondays through Saturdays and 11am to 6pm on Sundays. It is closed on Christmas and New Year’s.

The galleries in the East Building is the home of the modern and contemporary artwork contained in the National Gallery of Art. The exhibit space is spread out on five floors with permanent and special exhibits. The exhibits include a variety of art from French paintings to mobiles to paper cutouts.

On the Concourse Level of the building there is a bookstore, children’s shop, and a café. The café is also an Espresso Bar and Gelato Bar making it the best place to stop for a snack or meal break at the National Gallery of Art. For a good view of the National Mall while you eat there is the Terrace Café on the Upper Level.

One of the main pieces of art to see here is the Alexander Calder mobile that hangs from the roof of the East Building. It is quite the sight to see with its colorfulness and length of almost 80 feet.

Another one of the more interesting things to see in the East Building are the Matisse paper cutouts, which are displayed on the Tower level. To protect them they are only on display part of the day. The exhibits hours are from 10am to 2pm Mondays through Saturdays and 11am to 3pm on Sundays, so be sure you get up here before the exhibit is closed for the day.

From journal Weekend at the National Gallery of Art

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