Washington DC, Day 5

Wednesday, July 9
After last nights storms it was noticeably cooler this morning although the humidity was higher. We set off for Constitution Avenue where most of the museums are located because there were still a couple we wanted to see. Along the way we passed the northern end of the White House (we had previously seen it from the southern end) and it was interesting to see some protesters on the footpath and see their signs. There were lots of people around and we did what they were all doing and took yet another photo!

Noelle with protesters (& sign) outside the White House

"Ban all nuclear weapons or have a nice doomsday!"

When the sun came out it was quite hot so we were happy to arrive at the National Gallery of Art and feel the cool temperature inside. There were a couple of special exhibitions we wanted to see so we headed straight for them. The first was a collection of early American furniture, with most of it made in the late 1700s and based on British designs, but made with local and imported woods by American craftsmen. Most of the pieces were in excellent condition for their age and some had incredible provenance. There were also other decorative items like American, British, Chinese and French porcelain as well as early American glassware. It was a very impressive collection and really well presented.
We swung by some Titians, mainly because there was one on loan from the art gallery in Naples, Italy - Danae - and although we've seen some Titian's before, it was amazing seeing them at such close quarters and without hoards of people around us! It was the same right through the gallery so we decided we like US art galleries.
The building itself impressed us with its massive rotunda in the middle and beautiful courtyards located in the centre of the east and west wings.

Noelle in the Rotunda

Alan in one of the courtyards

There were also plenty of places to sit and admire the artworks along with comfortable lounges to rest in - and some people had really taken the "rest" part to extremes!

The next exhibition, although small, was very topical as it was dedicated to the Monuments Men from WW2, many of whom worked at this art gallery. These art experts were drafted into the Army to recover the art stolen by the Nazis, and were the subject of a recently released movie starring George Clooney that we actually saw on one of our recent flights.

Next up were the Dutch and French masters, particularly Rembrandt and the Impressionists, both of which are our favorites. There were also some special "on loan" Van Goghs in with the usual paintings on display and, again, we were able to get up close and personal with them! It was interesting being able to see the different styles of the Impressionists, and to appreciate their creative genius.

Van Gogh self portrait

Finally we arrived at a special exhibition of the French artist, Edgar Degas and the American artist, Mary Cassatt, who lived in Paris from 1874 until her death in 1926. They each had an influence on the other's style, and collaborated on some works, as well as experimented with different materials and printing methods. It was fascinating seeing how their friendship developed, and how it helped increase their creative output during such an amazing period in the history of Art.
We left the Gallery and it was very humid and looked stormy and we hadn't gone far before it started raining. We zig-zagged our way home up some streets and along others trying to avoid having to wait for lights to change for us to cross - they are unbelievably long cycles here. As we approached one intersection, we saw it was being controlled by Secret Service men. We could hear the sound of sirens (not altogether unusual in DC!) so we waited to see what was happening. We asked a nearby building security man what it was all about and he said that, with the measures being taken and the cavalcade that was approaching, it would have to be the President. We don't know for sure whether it was but in one of the black Cadillacs it certainly looked like President Obama. Very exciting stuff to finish a wonderful time in Washington DC and we still have lots more to see and do on a future visit.

Posted with Blogsy