It’s always a treat to be in touch, and even better, to meet up in person with my writing friends! This past weekend, I picked up Kymberly Dakin, who lives in Maine, at Dulles International Airport and whisked us to Washington, D.C., and the National Gallery of Art on Independence Avenue. Luckily, we found a parking space (free street parking on Sundays) behind the Air and Space Museum, which was a short walk to the NGA.
What I thought was the same Paris 1874 - The Impressionist Moment exhibit that I saw in Paris, France, in May 2024, and I was excited to see it with Kymberly, who was equally excited. Disappointingly (for me), it was not the same. The NGA show was edited, and some of my favorite paintings (think Van Gohs' portrait and sunflowers and several others) never made over the pond.
For weeks (it opened in early September), I was so excited to see the same amazing impressionist paintings exhibited at the Musee d’Orsay. Only some of those great works and fantastic paintings loved the world over were in D.C., but I still want to go back.
The curators did a great job of trying to capture the art and lure of the artists' salons in Paris in the 1870s, but the exhibition lacked that same French pizzazz I was expecting—maybe because there were less well-known artists, though their paintings were equally outstanding.
I aim to see this show a couple more times without the weekend crowds before the exhibit ends in January 2025. It is still a grand display of that incredible art movement with renegade artists that I’ve loved as the rest of the world has to.
If Impressionist Art is a favorite (or you are just curious about the genre), please visit the National Gallery of Art in downtown Washington soon. The museum is terrific, and it's HUGE - two wings!
bSoleille!
Terri
Photos in DC; 1) Kym and me; 2 and 3) At the Paris 1874 Exhibit; 4) in the NGA; 5) Kym reading to enter the line (about 15 minutes to get into the gallery) and 6) A painting by one of the Masters? Can you guess who painted this one? I'll give the answer in tomorrow's post!
Comments