DC Art

I have been itching to go to an art museum. Normally, I would wander around different exhibitions across Washington DC every week. However, COVID-19 doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon as many re-opened states are seeing an alarming increase in cases.

While I can’t pop into any gallery today, I decided to show my support and appreciation for two beautiful museums. The Hirshhorn Museum boasts unique architecture derived from Gordon Bunshaft, a Pritzker Prize-winning architect. The Hirshhorn building is a hollow-centered, elevated cylinder that floats above the famed sculpture garden. The bold structure contrasts against other landmarks on the National Mall, which mainly embody Victorian styles, neoclassical temples and modern block buildings.

The National Gallery of Art East Building opened on June 1, 1978. Chinese architect I. M. Pei designed the building to provide additional space for the permanent collection, temporary exhibitions and a new research center for the history of arts. The irregularly shaped trapezoidal site proved to be a challenge, but Pei completed the building in 1941. You can view the design drawings and three-dimensional model in the National Gallery of Art archives.