Wednesday December 17, 2008
Art and Art Museums
Washington, DC, houses dozens of museums; many of them are free. You can view well-known paintings from European and American masters; learn about ancient Egyptian and Asian art. Most are closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but check each website to determine closures. By taking some time to review the website of each museum, you can better determine which art museum would house objects of interest to you.
| American Art Museum (Smithsonian) (202) 633-7970 8th and F Streets, NW, Washington, DC 11:30am-7pm daily; closed December 25 No admission charged |
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America's first federal art collection is dedicated to American art. It includes sculpture, photographs, folk art, contemporary craft, paintings and decorative arts. You will find works by Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper and many others. |
| Corcoran Gallery of Art (202) 639-1700 500 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006 10am-5pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday; 10am-9pm. Thursday; closed Tuesdays Admission charged |
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One of the nation's oldest art museums with collections of American art, European art, contemporary art, photography, media arts and decorative arts. |
| Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian) (202) 357-4880 Freer: 12th and Jefferson Drive, SW, Washington, DC Sackler: 1050 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 10am-5:30pm daily; closed December 25 No admission charged |
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These two Smithsonian Museums are connected by an underground exhibition space. They feature wide-ranging collections of American, Egyptian and Asian art works. Objects include paintings, manuscripts, ceramics and lacquerwork, precious metals, calligraphy, glass and earthenware. |
| Hillwood Museum and Gardens (202) 686-8500 4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 10am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday Admission charged; reservations recommended |
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Hillwood is the former 25-acre estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post, heir to the Post cereal fortune. It features French and Russian art collections as well as beautiful gardens, which are maintained in the same manner as when Mrs. Post lived at Hillwood. Self-guided and docent tours available. |
| Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Smithsonian) (202) 633-4674 Corner of 7th Street and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC Museum open 10am-5:00pm; garden 7:30am-dusk No admission charged; donations accepted |
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This Smithsonian museum features international modern and contemporary art. Daily tours conducted by docents. The Sculpture Garden is located on the National Mall and contains more than 60 large-scale works of art from Auguste Rodin, Alexander Calder, Henry Moore and others. |
| Kreeger Museum (202) 337-3050 or (202) 338-3552 2401 Foxhall Road, NW, Washington, DC 20007 10:30am or 1:30pm weekday, reservations required for tour 10am-4pm Saturday, reservations not required; guided tours at 10:30am, 12pm and 2pm Admission charged |
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Highlights 19th and 20th century paintings and sculptures including works of Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, Cezanne, Chagall, Rodin, Monet and many others. |
| National Gallery of Art (202) 737-4215 4th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20565 10am-5pm Monday-Saturday; 11am-6pm Sunday No tickets needed for entrance to museum |
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One of the nation's premier art galleries with two halls--one devoted to classic painters, and the other with more modern works. The collection began in 1937 with a gift collection from financier Andrew W. Mellon. That collection formed the nucleus of one of the world’s most outstanding galleries. In the West Building, you can find works from European masters like van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet and Rembrandt along with the only da Vinci on public display in the U.S. The East Building focuses more on modern and contemporary works. |
| National Museum of African Art (Smithsonian) (202) 633-4600 950 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20560 10am-5:30pm daily; closed December 25 No admission charged |
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The collection at this museum features artistic expressions from ancient to contemporary Africa, including ceramics, textiles, furniture, tools, masks, figures and musical instruments as well as traditional art forms of painting and sculpture. |
| National Museum of Women in the Arts (202) 783-5000 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005-3970 10am-5pm Monday-Saturday; 12-5pm Sunday Admission charged |
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This museum is dedicated to the exhibition, preservation and acquisition of works by women artists. Its permanent collection of more than 3,000 works ranges from the 16th century to the present. |
| National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian) (202) 633-1000 8th and F Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20001 11:30am-7pm daily; closed December 25 No admission charged |
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Specializes in American art, history and biography , including works by Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper. It contains visual arts, performing arts and new media to portray individuals who have shaped our country's culture. Collections include American presidents, George Washington, Colonial America and the American Revolution. The America's Presidents exhibit is the nation's only complete collection of presidential portraits outside the White House. |
| Phillips Collection (202) 387-2151 2105 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 10am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday; 10am-8:30pm Thursday; 11am-6pm Sunday; closed Mondays Admission charged |
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America's first modern art museum opened in 1921 and features nearly 2,500 works by American and European impressionist and modern artists. The museum's best-known work is Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party. Featured European artists include Cezanne, Degas, Matisse, Monet, Picasso and Renoir along with Americans Winslow Homer, James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Albert Ryder. |
| Renwick Gallery (Smithsonian) (202) 633-2850 Pennsylvania and 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 10am-5:30pm daily; closed December 25 No admission charged |
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This National Historic Landmark is part of the Smithsonian Museum collection. It features American crafts and decorative arts from the 19th to the 21st century. |
