Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/646476
40 | APRIL 2016 nshoremag.com WORLD-CLASS ART Famous for its vaunted Smithso- nian Institution, D.C. could well be called the museum capital of the country, in addition to being its political capital. Many of the city's museums are free, and they cover a huge range of subject matter. The city's art museums are especially notable, offering eve- rything from African and Asian art to conceptual and modern art. Three art museums are highly recommended for weekend visi- tors: The Phillips Collection, the National Gallery of Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum. The Phillips Collection shows off its renowned collection of modern art in a cozy, tasteful townhouse set- ting near Dupont Circle. Established in 1921 as the nation's first museum of modern art, the gallery reflects the passions of its founder, Duncan Phillips, with particular concentra- tions on certain artists like Braque, Klee, and Rothko. Visitors can stroll among masterpieces by these lumi- naries and many others, including Renoir, Bonnard, O'Keeffe, and van Gogh. Special exhibits cover specific modern artists and themes such as landscape, identity, and culture. phillipscollection.org The National Gallery of Art dis- plays American and European work spanning centuries and genres in its iconic building near the U.S. Capitol. The building consists of two wings, Right, Vincent van Gogh, Dutch, 1853 - 1890, Self-Portrait, 1889, oil on canvas. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney. The National Gallery of Art. Below, Georg Baselitz, La sedia di Paolo, 1988. Gouache, india ink on paper. Gift of Michael Werner, 2015. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. with the East Building, designed by the famous I. M. Pei, housing contemporary work and the West Building displaying art from other eras. The collection includes work by masters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Gauguin, Rodin, Degas, and Picasso, among many others. Visitors also enjoy a wide range of special exhibitions, such as Three Centuries of American Prints (start- ing April 3, 2016), and the adjacent sculpture garden, featuring pieces by Joan Miró, Louise Bourgeois, and Marc Chagall. nga.gov Hirshhorn Museum and Sculp- ture Garden, another installation on the National Mall, is a leading institution of contemporary art and culture. Its unusual oval building courtesy of The Phillips Collection (left); of National Gallery of Art (above)