+1. I've arrived via Union Station late afternoon or early evening on a Sunday on more than one occasion in the recent past, and found myself waiting 20 minutes for a Red Line train, which was then further delayed en route.Originally Posted by gregmo
On a happier note: another vote for the National Portrait Gallery. Among exhibits I've enjoyed there, I see that the show of Matthew Brady's Union Generals photos is still up:
http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/uniongenerals/
This William Christenberry show sounds like it is not to be missed: http://www.hemphillfinearts.com/exhi...nt-exhibitions
He's just revealed that he has alzheimer's, and this is likely the last show he'll be actively involved in.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifest...2a4_story.html
That's a shame, really sad to hear when real photographers are going through something like this. Or anyone legitimately going through this of course. Best wishes for him.
There are two or three Christenberry prints in the Phillips Collection show (I believe that he's on the museum's board). The Post article tells a sad story; I've always liked his work but never knew he lived in DC.
So Bruce-
did you get here? See anything you liked?
let us know, if you please.
First off, thanks guys for the tips. Our hotel was only a block from the Phillips, so we saved that for the last day. Excellent exhibit with a good sampling of styles. But the paintings were spectacular. Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party has always been a favorite but I'd never seen it for real.
I was so excited to be greeted by a Fenton albumen print at the current vintage photography show at the National Gallery of Art. And then add to that a Carleton Watkins albumen. I was ecstatic.
The Peru festival held by the Smithsonian has me thinking of going to Cuzco soon.
And then there was the National Portrait Gallery. The cabinet cards of U.S. civil war generals and the civil war paintings and photographs were magnificent. The building itself was a highlight. The interior courtyard is a welcome respite to being overwhelmed with imagery. We ventured to the back rooms where restorations are done and watched videos explaining the process. The Luce collection was amazing with American art and folk art.
Finally, I managed to get a look at a few negatives made by Brady and Alexander Gardner in the National Portrait Gallery archives. A 17x20 negative of Lincoln was an interesting study in Gardner's technique. It had a thick tan hue over the darker areas of the negative and quite a few blotches. Who knows if that's what happened over 153 years or if that's how it looked when it was made. I also found a slight imprint in the varnish of the negative of the photographer who owned the negative before it was donated to NPG, so the curator was excited that someone had found something new. Also got to see a cabinet card negative of John Fremont and Edwin Booth, John Wilkes' brother, who claimed he rescued Robert Lincoln in 1962 from being hit by a train.
The Smithsonian American History museum was disappointing. I remember seeing the big pendulum swinging in front of the Star Spangled Banner which once hung in the foyer but is now in a darkened display room behind the wall where it once hung. There was a good civil war collection that had a 4-tube cabinet card camera (lens set was inserted wrong).
At Ford's theater, reproductions of Gardner's images are everywhere, and the Washington Post ran an image of the conspirators' hanging on the 150th anniversary of that event.
Finally, the farmer's market at Dupont Circle was one of the best I've ever seen. Probably as good as those in France. The Metro was a breeze, although we learned the hard way that 2 passengers cannot use the same card.
The weather was hot and humid but that made coming back to Louisiana easy.
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