Museums: National Gallery of Art #15

Visiting the National Gallery of Art many times during Year 3 has been a great pleasure for us.  

Typically, each time we visit, we select specific galleries, such as the Rothko gallery in the East Building.  

A recent visit was different.  Instead of focusing on a specific group  of paintings, we rambled around the museum and even outside.  A few works of art caught our attention and we are sharing them here.

Below is a recent acquisition of a modern work.  The painting came to the National Gallery when it inherited most of the art collection from the now defunct Corcoran Gallery of Art.  

The painting caught Greg's attention because it is very large with a spectrum of blended colors that seem to pulse when stared at.  

To create the effect of a spectrum of shifting colors, the artist painted thin stripes of slightly different shades whose width narrowed as the colors grew darker.  Like a Claude Monet lily pond painting, the painting is simple and static when viewed up close. Viewed at a distance, the painting comes alive.

Close up view of The Hard White Edge

Another painting that caught Greg's attention was Jean DuBuffet's abstract painting pictured below.

DuBuffet's painting is fairly dark and monochrome.  Yet, after viewing the painting for a short while, three-dimensional shapes start to appear.       

Another work of art that caught our attention was in the museum's outdoor sculpture garden.  You might remember the Pop Art image LOVE by Robert Indiana.  Below is a variation on LOVE.  

Thanks for rambling around the National Gallery with us.