HOME
What's New Subscribe to Our Web Site Newsletter Calendar of Events Recent Acquisitions Videos and Podcasts About the Gallery Jazz in the Garden Martin Puryear
Global Navigation Collection Exhibitions Planning a Visit Programs Online Tours Education Resources Gallery Shop Support the Gallery NGA Kids
National Gallery of Art - WHAT'S NEW

Subscribe
rss feed Subscribe to the Gallery's "What's New" RSS feed to receive new updates automatically. Help

Don't Miss!
Exhibition closes September 28
Martin Puryear

Image: Martin PuryearA native Washingtonian who has achieved international acclaim, Martin Puryear has created a distinctive body of sculpture that defies categorization. In conjunction with the retrospective currently on view in the East and West Buildings, the Gallery has launched a new Web feature and family guide to further explore his poetic body of work. Our site has detailed information about the exhibition, Martin Puryear, and resources—as well as photographs of works in place at the Gallery and a video of his Ladder for Booker T. Washington being installed in the Rotunda. Our richly illustrated family guide helps visitors navigate the exhibition, with background information about specific works, questions for further discussion, and a map of the places Puryear has lived and explored.

Opening September 14
George de Forest Brush: The Indian Paintings

The first exhibition of George de Forest Brush's remarkable paintings of American Indians will be on view at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, September 14, 2008 through January 4, 2009. The exhibition of 21 paintings includes life studies of young Arapahoe and Shoshone men completed in 1882, while Brush was living in Wyoming, as well as studio paintings with Indian subjects completed following the artist's return east. Combining extraordinary technical skills acquired through years of study in Paris with firsthand experience of life in the American West, Brush produced a series of Indian images during the decade of the 1880s unlike any exhibited earlier. It is now clear that these beautifully crafted images are also rich in contextual references.

Declaring himself an artist rather than an ethnographer, Brush used the image of the Indian to address a number of contemporary issues, including his deep skepticism regarding the benefits of rapid industrialization and his concern that a nation racing toward modernism was losing its regard for art born of craft and tradition.

Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month 2008
September 15-October 15

National Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the United States and celebrates the culture and traditions of residents who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Started in 1968 as National Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon B. Johnson, the observation was expanded in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan to cover the thirty-day period from September 15 to October 15. September 15 was chosen as the beginning of the celebration because it is the Independence Day observation for five Central and South American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Mexico observes Independence Day on September 16, and Chile celebrates its independence on September 18. Columbus Day, which also is of significance to Hispanic Americans, falls within this thirty-day period as well (October 12).

Film
The Last Conquistador
September 13 at 3:00 pm
East Building Auditorium
Director John Valadez discusses his new documentary about the huge equestrian bronze sculpture of Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate that has stirred much debate in El Paso.

Illustrated Lecture
The New Prado Extension: A Conversation with Rafael Moneo and Miguel Zugaza
September 26 at 3:00 pm
East Building Auditorium
Rafael Moneo, architect, and Miguel Zugaza, director of Museo Nacional del Prado; moderated by Selma Holo,
director of the Fisher Gallery and professor of art history, University of Southern California

Foreign Language Tours
American Art in Spanish
September 26 and October 24 at 12:00 noon
Meet at West Building Rotunda

West Building Highlights in Spanish
September 2, 11, and 13 at 12:00 noon
October 7, 16, and 18 at 12:00 noon
Meet at West Building Rotunda

East Building Highlights in Spanish
September 2, 11, and 13 at 2:00 pm
October 7, 16, and 18 at 2:00 pm
Meet at East Building Information Desk

Concerts
)Musica(Aperta and National Gallery
Vocal Arts Ensemble
October 5 at 6:30 pm
West Building, West Garden Court
Music by Spanish composers, poetry by San Juan de la Cruz, and a viewing of paintings by El Greco and Jusepe
de Ribera in Galleries 28 and 29 are all based on the theme of mysticism in Spanish music and art from 1500
to the present.

Brazilian Guitar Quartet
October 22 at 12:10 pm
East Building Auditorium
Four of Brazil’s most talented guitarists

Leo Villareal Installation in the Concourse
Beginning Monday, September 8th

Monday, September 8th, marks the beginning of the installation of Leo Villareal's LED (light-emitting diode) project designed for the Gallery's Concourse. Villareal's work features movement and light, qualities that make this installation particularly well-suited for the moving walkway between the East and West Buildings, a subterranean area through which thousands of people pass daily. The installation features approximately 40,000 LED nodes that run through channels along the entire length of the connecting link. The artist will program sequences using custom-designed software to create abstract configurations of light through electronic circuitry. Villareal's programming both instructs the light and allows for an element of chance. While it is possible that a pattern will repeat during a viewer's experience, it is highly unlikely. Still, the eye will seek patterns in the motion, a perceptual effect of the hypnotic trailing lights.

A digital simulation of the finished project will be on view at the east end of the Concourse throughout the installation process. Traffic on the moving walkway will be intermittently halted, but visitors will always be able to pass through the space and view the work in progress. Once installed, Villareal's project will be on view for one year.

Cell Phone Tours: National Gallery of Art East Building

Image: CELL-PHONE TOUR: NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART EAST BUILDINGWith more than 10,000 callers to date, the Gallery's cell-phone tour is a convenient way to learn more about the East Building and 10 artworks from the collection. Callers can stroll through the atrium while listening to Gallery director Earl A. Powell III, curators, and architect I. M. Pei discuss the building, the artworks, and the importance of sculpture in relation to the architecture. Call (202) 595-1857 and press 1#–11# (11 stops), or listen to all the tour stops in MP3 format and read the printer-friendly transcript on our Web site.

http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=56253+0+none (Alexander Calder)
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=130693+0+none (Andy Goldsworthy)
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=56124+0+none (David Smith)
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=56841+0+none (Max Ernst)
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=124416+0+none (Ellsworth Kelly)
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=115992+0+none (Richard Serra)
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=81692+0+none (Sol LeWitt)
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=128234+0+none (Rachel Whiteread)
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=124632+0+none (Tony Smith)
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=70066+0+none (Martin Puryear)

In Memoriam: Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008)

Image: In Memoriam: Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008)In Robert Rauschenberg's practice, sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, theater, dance, video, poetry, and musical composition all expanded to absorb the everyday and accidental. He challenged preconceptions about the boundaries between art and life and profoundly altered the course of art after midcentury. Learn more about this pioneer artist in our Web feature, which includes links to podcasts, the Gemini G.E.L. Online Catalogue Raisonné, works in the collection, past exhibition features, and more related resources.

Volunteer at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden

The Sculpture Garden plantings are maintained by the National Gallery of Art horticulture staff. The division of horticulture is currently accepting applications for volunteers. For more information on volunteer opportunities, candidates should submit a letter of interest including all vital contact information to gardens@nga.gov.



Sculpture Garden Web Feature and Jazz in the Garden

With extended summer hours and the perennially popular Jazz in the Garden concert series under way, the Sculpture Garden is a wonderful place to be. Learn more about the Gallery's growing collection of 20th-century sculpture in our online Web feature, which explores the pieces on display, surrounding seasonal plantings, and a history of the garden. Admission to the Sculpture Garden and jazz performances is always free of charge. To learn about similar events, subscribe to the music programs newsletter via our Web site.

New Podcast Series: The Vogel Collection Story

Dorothy and Herbert Vogel have amassed one of the greatest collections of minimal, conceptual, and post-minimal art in the world, acquiring works by some of the most important contemporary artists of our time, including Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Sol LeWitt, Richard Tuttle, and Pat Steir. In this three-part podcast, curator Ruth Fine speaks with the Vogels shortly after they announced The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States project, which will distribute their vast collection across the country for all to enjoy.

New Video Podcasts: Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion

Empire of the Eye: Magic of IllusionThe Magic of Illusion—presented here in a seven-part podcast series—is a film about how we see, what we see, or what it is we think we see. Al Roker guides us on a journey into the secrets of illusion, utilizing special effects to illustrate the artistic and visionary discoveries of the Renaissance. While Copernicus and Columbus were changing our understanding of the world, the Renaissance masters were dramatically changing the way we see that world. The film uses recent technology to look at old works in new ways. Each segment of this podcast presentation unlocks new secrets of illusion and perspective as seen in the works of old masters.

Hi-Res | Lo-Res | iTunes | RSS Introduction, Part 1
Hi-Res | Lo-Res | iTunes | RSS The Trinity—Masaccio, Part 2
Hi-Res | Lo-Res | iTunes | RSS The Church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro, Part 3
Hi-Res | Lo-Res | iTunes | RSS Sant'Ignazio's Ceiling, Part 4
Hi-Res | Lo-Res | iTunes | RSS Palazzo Spada's Corridor, Part 5
Hi-Res | Lo-Res | iTunes | RSS St. Francis of Paola, Performer of Miracles, Part 6
Hi-Res | Lo-Res | iTunes | RSS Teatro Olimpico—Andrea Palladio, Part 7

New Options Available!

Subscribe to Our Free E-mail Newsletters
Stay up to date with the National Gallery of Art by subscribing to our free e-mail newsletters: Web, educators, family programs, fellowships/internships, films, gallery talks/lectures, music programs, and teen programs. Select as many updates as you wish to receive. To edit your subscriber information, please go to our subscription management page.

Image: Mark Rothko American, 1903 - 1970 Untitled, 1969 acrylic on paper sheet: 127.63 x 107.32 cm (50 1/4 x 42 1/4 in.) Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.National Gallery of Art Seeks Drawings, Watercolors, and Paintings on Paper by Mark Rothko for Essential Reference Volumes

As part of a worldwide initiative, the National Gallery of Art is seeking information about drawings, watercolors, and paintings on paper in public and private collections by the American artist Mark Rothko (1903–1970). The National Gallery of Art is publishing a multivolume catalogue raisonné, Mark Rothko: The Works on Paper, which will document more than 2,700 objects that are largely unknown to both art specialists and the public. Demonstrating the range of Rothko's creative achievements, these volumes will be the definitive historical record of Rothko's oeuvre on paper for decades to come.

Anyone with information regarding works on paper by Mark Rothko should contact Laili Nasr, Rothko Catalogue Raisonné Project. Mailing address: National Gallery of Art, 2000B South Club Drive, Landover, MD 20785; phone: (202) 842-6779; fax: 202-789-3204; e-mail: l-nasr@nga.gov.

Press Materials

Comments on Your Visit

We would like to hear from you. Please tell us about your visit to the National Gallery of Art. If you would like a reply, please be sure to include your e-mail address.

Image: NGAkids, Still LifeNew Interactive: NGAkids Still Life

The new NGAkids Still Life interactive encourages young artists to explore the world around them by arranging artistic elements and everyday objects into multi-dimensional works that mirror those of the old masters. But there are surprises in store, as some of the objects unexpectedly spring to life! Experiment with spatial arrangements, size variables, and perspective angles, then switch modes and add layers of textured "brushstrokes" to create a more painterly, abstract image. This Art Zone activity is suitable for all ages.

Image: Andy Goldsworthy, Roof, February 2005, Photo: Lee Ewing, National Gallery of Art Andy Goldsworthy: Roof
East Building, Ground Level

British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy (b. 1956) was invited by the National Gallery of Art in January 2003 to create a work for the Gallery on site or elsewhere in the region. Impressed with the abundance and character of Washington's stone structures, Goldsworthy conceived a project reflecting his interest in local building stones and their geological origins. The resulting project comprises two phases: ephemeral work completed on Government Island in Stafford County, Virginia, and a permanent sculpture located on the Ground Level of the Gallery's East Building. Goldsworthy, along with his assistant and a team of workers including four dry-stone wallers from Britain, installed the sculpture entitled Roof over the course of nine weeks in the winter of 2004/2005. The site specific sculpture comprises nine hollow, low-profile domes of stacked slate, each with a centered oculus.

View panoramas of Roof in progress.

Image: Support the GallerySupport the Gallery: Make a Gift Online

The National Gallery of Art relies on a partnership of public support and private philanthropy to carry out its mission of service to the nation. You can learn more about giving to the Gallery through a Web site feature, "Support the Gallery."

This feature includes information about the many important Gallery programs that benefit from private funding and the various ways to make a gift. We invite you to explore how you can help the Gallery fulfill its mission through a charitable gift.

Visitor Guides
Less Than an Hour? West Building Highlights
(PDF 158k) (Download Acrobat Reader)

Less Than an Hour? West Building Sculpture Highlights
(PDF 136k) (Download Acrobat Reader)

Less Than an Hour? East Building Highlights
(PDF 462k) (Download Acrobat Reader)

Sculpture Garden
(PDF 528k) (Download Acrobat Reader)

For Children: The Great Picture Hunt
(PDF 184k) (Download Acrobat Reader)

Plan your visit to the National Gallery with these maps of must-see works.

Calendar of Events

Find out what's happening this month at the National Gallery of Art. To obtain a free bimonthly calendar of events by mail, call (202) 842-6662, or contact us by e-mail at calendar@nga.gov.The current bimonthly Calendar of Events is available in PDF format. (Download Acrobat Reader)

Film Calendar

To obtain a free quarterly film calendar by mail, contact us by e-mail at film-department@nga.gov. Please include your mailing address. The current bimonthly Film Calendar is available in PDF format. (Download Acrobat Reader)