On the National Mall (between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Ave, N.W.)
Washington, DC 20565 Tel: (202) 737-4215 Fax: (202) 842-2356 TDDY: (202) 842-6176 Internet Address: www.nga.gov Director: Dr. Earl A. Powell, III Admission: free.
Attendance: 6,000,000 Established: 1937 Membership: Y ADA Compliant: Y Parking:
limited free parking on mall and metered on streets.
Open: Monday to Saturday, 10am-5pm;
Sunday, llam-6pm.
Closed: New Years Day, Christmas Day.
Facilities: Architecture (East Building, 1978 designed by I.M. Pei; West Building, Neo-Classical, 1941 design by John Russell Pope); Food Services Cascade Cafe, Cascade Buffet, Coffee Bar, Garden Cafe, Terrace Cafe; Galleries; Library (scholars and art researchers by appointment only, 842-6511); Shops (4 locations).
Activities: Concert Series; Education Programs (children); Films; Lectures; Permanent Exhibits; Special Exhibitions (15-20/year); Tours.
Publications: annual report; calendar of events (bi-monthly); calendar of films; collection catalogues; exhibition catalogues.
National Gallery of Art Photo Gallery
A gift of Andrew W. Mellon to the nation, the Gallery was established by joint resolution of Congress in 1937. The Gallerys permanent collection of some 100,000 paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture, and decorative art traces the development of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present. The original structure, the West Building, which opened to the public in 1941. includes European (13th – early 20th century) and American (18th – early 20th century) works. A comprehensive survey of Italian painting and sculpture, including the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Western Hemisphere is presented here. Rich in Dutch masters and French impressionists, the collection offers excellent surveys of American, British, Flemish. Spanish, and 15th- and 16th-century German art. Visitors are also invited to explore the Micro Gallery, a comprehensive, interactive, multi-media computer system. The Gallerys newer East Building, funds for the construction of which were given by the son and daughter of the founder and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, opened to the public in 1978. It was planned to accommodate the Gallerys growing collection and expanded exhibition schedule, as well as to house the Center for Advance Study in the Visual Arts, a research library, an increasingly large collection of drawings and prints, an extensive photographic archive, and administrative offices. It is especially suited for displaying contemporary art; among the major 20th-century artists represented in the collection are Calder, Matisse, Miro, Picasso, Pollock, and Rothko. Additionally, the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, given to the nation by The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, is located on the Mall at 7th Street and Constitution Avenue. It presents seventeen major works in a 6.1-acre landscaped setting. Included are important new acquisitions of post-World War II sculpture by. such internationallv-renowned artists as Louise Bourgeois, Mark di Suvero, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. and Tony Smith.
