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Showing posts with the label Phillips Collection

D.C. Museums

Ginevra de’ Benci(obverse) by Leonardo da Vinci, c.1474/1478* National Gallery of Art  The  National Gallery of Art  exhibits a wealth of Western art and its annex, the East building displays modern and contemporary art. The two buildings are connected underground by a walkway. The East building was designed by I.M. Pei. The portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci was completed by da Vinci when he was only 21 and Ginevra was 16 years of age. She was born to an affluent family and was educated. Da Vinci's "lifelike and forthright portrayal broke with conventions of earlier Renaissance portraiture of women". quote from  Natl. Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is on Constitution Avenue NW, Washington D.C. www.nga.gov The Phillips Collection Renoir’s  Luncheon of the Boating Party ( see painting here )  is the highlight of the collection. This large painting (56 in x 69 in) is in a room by itself and you can sit in front of it and feel as if you are one of the “ boating p

Favorite U.S. Museums

Winslow Homer, Saco Bay, 1896, Oil on canvas.  The Clark Art Institute, 1955.5 The Clark Art Institute The Berkshires is one of the most beautiful places in the United States. Sleepy little towns snooze amidst lush vegetation and green hills. At Williamstown, you are immediately drawn by the calm and restful appeal of this town. This is why it is so surprising to find a museum of the caliber of the Clark Art Institute in this pastoral setting. Sterling Singer Clark, heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune and his wife, Francine Clary, founded the museum in 1950. Their collection of  French Impressionist and Academic paintings including works by Renoir, Degas, Gauguin and Van Gogh form the core collection of the museum together with their silver, porcelain, drawings and print acquisitions. The museum opened to the public in 1955. Sterling Clark also had an interest in American artists and collected the works of Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent. The museum is at 225 South Street,