The Kennedy Center

History of the Living Memorial

The Kennedy Center, located on the banks of the Potomac River near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., opened to the public in September 1971. But its roots date back to 1958, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed bipartisan legislation creating a National Cultural Center. To honor Eisenhower's vision for such a facility, one of the Kennedy Center's theaters is named for him.

The National Cultural Center Act included four basic components: it authorized the Center's construction, spelled out an artistic mandate to present a wide variety of both classical and contemporary performances, specified an educational mission for the Center, and stated that the Center was to be an independent facility, self-sustaining, and privately funded. As a result of this last stipulation, a mammoth fundraising campaign began immediately following the Act's passage into law.

President John F. Kennedy was a lifelong supporter and advocate of the arts, and frequently steered the public discourse toward what he called "our contribution to the human spirit." Kennedy took the lead in raising funds for the new National Cultural Center, holding special White House luncheons and receptions, appointing his wife Jacqueline and Mrs. Eisenhower as honorary co-chairwomen, and in other ways placing the prestige of his office firmly behind the endeavor. [The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library and Museum, Boston, Massachusetts]

President Kennedy also attracted to the project the man who would become the Center's guiding light for nearly three decades. By the time Kennedy appointed him as chairman of the Center in 1961, Roger L. Stevens had already achieved spectacular success in real estate (i.e. negotiating the sale of the Empire State Building in 1951), politics, fundraising, and the arts; as a theatrical producer, he had brought West Side Story, A Man for All Seasons, and Bus Stop to the stage. Over the next 30 years, Stevens would oversee the Center's construction, then would shepherd it to prominence as a crucible for the best in music, dance, and theater.

Two months after President Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, Congress designated the National Cultural Center (designed by Edward Durell Stone) as a "living memorial" to Kennedy, and authorized $23 million to help build what was now known as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Fundraising continued at a swift pace—with much help coming from the Friends of the Kennedy Center volunteers, who fanned out across the nation to attract private support [View profiles of Friends/Volunteers Founding members]—and nations around the world began donating funds, building materials, and artworks to assist in the project's completion. In December 1964, President Lyndon Johnson turned the first shovelful of earth at the Center's construction site, using the same gold-plated spade that had been used in the groundbreaking ceremonies for both the Lincoln Memorial in 1914 and the Jefferson Memorial in 1938.

From its very beginnings, the Kennedy Center has represented a unique public/private partnership. As the nation's living memorial to President Kennedy, the Center receives federal funding each year to pay for maintenance and operation of the building, a federal facility. However, the Center's artistic programs and education initiatives are paid for almost entirely through ticket sales and gifts from individuals, corporations, and private foundations.

The Center made its public debut on September 8, 1971, with a gala opening performance featuring the world premiere of a Requiem mass honoring President Kennedy, a work commissioned from the legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein.

[ View the opening night's program for Mass.]

The occasion enabled Washington to begin earning a reputation as a cultural hub as well as a political one; as The New York Times wrote in a front-page article the next morning, "The capital of this nation finally strode into the cultural age tonight with the spectacular opening of the $70 million [Kennedy Center]...a gigantic marble temple to music, dance, and drama on the Potomac's edge."

[ Read the dedication statements by the original honorary chairmen.]

Under Roger Stevens's continued direction, the Kennedy Center presented season after season of the finest and most exciting in the performing arts: new plays by Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and Tom Stoppard; new ballets by Antony Tudor, Agnes DeMille, and Jerome Robbins; new orchestral scores by Aaron Copland, Dmitri Shostakovich, and John Cage. The Center co-produced musicals including Annie and Pippin in its early years, and later co-produced the American premiere of Les Misérables and co-commissioned the preeminent American opera of recent times, John Adams's Nixon in China. Stevens also initiated the American National Theater (ANT) company, which pushed the boundaries of traditional drama during a brief and controversial, but influential reign during the mid-1980s. [In Memory of Roger L. Stevens, February 1998]

The Center's presence also enabled Washington to become an international stage, hosting the American debuts of the Bolshoi Opera and the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, as well as the first-ever U.S. performances by Italy's legendary La Scala opera company. [See our Performance Highlights for a more thorough review of the Center's artistic achievements.]

Ralph P. Davidson replaced Stevens as Kennedy Center Chairman in 1988, and helped secure an ongoing Japanese endowment that brings that nation's arts to Washington each year. (Another of Japan's gifts to the Center, the Terrace Theater, had opened in 1979.) James D. Wolfensohn was elected the Center's third Chairman in 1990; under the leadership of Wolfensohn and President Lawrence J. Wilker, the Center solidified its fundraising, strengthened its relations with Congress, and extended the nationwide reach of its education programs to serve millions of young people in every state. The Center renewed its commitment to the creation of new works, and became a national leader in arts education and community outreach as well as a friendlier and more accessible home for the arts in Washington.

James A. Johnson, former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer at Fannie Mae, began his tenure as the Kennedy Center's fourth Chairman in May 1996. Johnson's vision of the Center as a performing arts center attractive to people of all levels of income and artistic taste led him to create the Performing Arts for Everyone initiative, increasing the visibility of the Center's frequent low-priced and free events. He created and endowed the Millennium Stage, which presents a free event every day of the year at 6 p.m., and are also streamed live, online, and also via Facebook. By 2001, Johnson, whose stewardship had greatly enlarged the Center's artistic endowment, was joined by the Center's new president Michael M. Kaiser, former head of the Royal Opera House and earlier of American Ballet Theatre. Kaiser, who stepped down as Kennedy Center President in August 2014, oversaw all the artistic activities at the Kennedy Center, increased the Center's already broad educational efforts, established cross-disciplinary programming with opera, symphony and dance, established Kennedy Center Arts Management Program, created unprecedented theater festivals celebrating the works of Stephen Sondheim and Tennessee Williams, and arranged for continuing visits by St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theater Opera, Ballet, and Orchestra, and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman and CEO of The Blackstone Group, a global investment and advisory firm headquartered in New York, began his service as the fifth Chairman of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees in May 2004. His commitment and interest in the arts, and particularly theater, was highlighted by a gift of $10 million to the Center's theater program, which has since produced new productions of such classics as Mame and Carnival!, August Wilson's 20th Century—the playwright's complete 10-play cycle performed as fully staged readings, a major revival production of Ragtime that transferred to Broadway in October 2009, and Terrence McNally's Nights at the Opera in which three of the playwright's works were performed concurrently in three Kennedy Center theaters.

David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and managing director of The Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms, was named Chairman of the Kennedy Center in May 2010. Since then, Rubenstein has pledged more than $25 million to the Kennedy Center in support of the National Symphony Orchestra, the Center's artistic and educational programming, major annual events, and the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, which seeks to increase access to the arts to the underserved, the underprivileged, young people, and members of our armed services. Mr. Rubenstein pledged an additional $50 million as the lead gift for the Kennedy Center's Expansion Project, which will be located south of the existing building. Designed by American architect Steven Holl, the expansion will add dedication and much-needed classroom and open rehearsal spaces, as well as public gardens and an outdoor video wall. Construction is expected to be completed in the 2018–2019 season. Mr. Rubenstein's accomplishments at the Kennedy Center include the appointment of the renowned Deborah F. Rutter as the third-ever Kennedy Center President. An accomplished arts leader known for emphasizing collaboration, innovation, and community engagement, Ms. Rutter began her tenure at the Kennedy Center September 1, 2014.

In May of 2016, the Center kicked off the JFK centennial year, celebrating the 100th birthday of America's 35th President and honoring his legacy. Leading up to the centennial Open House and celebration in May 2017, the Center's programming is inspired by five ideals commonly attributed to President Kennedy: Courage, Freedom, Justice, Service, and Gratitude. Continuing to serve as a thought-leader in the performing arts community and to reflect Kennedy's ideals as a living memorial in the 21st century, the Center is engaged in a process to re-imagine itself as a more dynamic creative campus that actively engages with its communities to inspire citizen artists and reflect the contemporary spirit of exploration and expression of America. Guided by JFK's legacy of idealism, hope, and empowerment, the Kennedy Center will launch new initiatives, serve as a catalyst and a meeting place, and invite members of the public to engage with artists and ideas, and to participate in the civic and cultural life of their country.

"I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities," President Kennedy once said, "we, too, will be remembered not for our victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit."

to learn more go to www.kennedy-center.org

Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Smithsonian American Art Museum, the nation’s first collection of American art, is an unparalleled record of the American experience. The collection captures the aspirations, character, and imagination of the American people throughout three centuries. The museum is the home to one of the largest and most inclusive collections of American art in the world. Its artworks reveal key aspects of America’s s rich artistic and cultural history from the colonial period to today.

The museum has been a leader in identifying and collecting significant aspects of American visual culture, including photography, modern folk and self-taught art, African American art, Latino art, and video games. The museum has the largest collection of New Deal art and exceptional collections of contemporary craft, American impressionist paintings and masterpieces from the Gilded Age. In recent years, the museum has focused on strengthening its contemporary art collection, and in particular media arts, through acquisitions, awards, curatorial appointments, endowments, and by commissioning new artworks.

To learn more go to: https://americanart.si.edu

Lincoln Memorial

he memorial built to honor the 16th president is a must-see for every visitor to the nation’s capital.

The experience

The grand Lincoln Memorial towers over the Reflecting Pool, anchoring the western end of the National Mall. The best way to approach the memorial is from the east, by the Washington Monument and the National World War II Memorial. This will put you at the edge of the Reflecting Pool, a shimmering expanse which best illuminates the grand structures honoring our most storied leaders.

Take a stroll toward the memorial and watch as it gradually gets larger. When you stand directly in front, gaze at the handsome marble columns surrounded by greenery, part of a design inspired by ancient Greek temples. There are 36 columns, each one representing one state in the U.S. at the date of President Lincoln’s death. The memorial itself is 190 feet long and 119 feet wide, and reaches a height of almost 100 feet.

Climb the stairs leading to the interior, and look up. There, etched into the wall, is a memorable quote: "In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever."

Below the quote sits a 19-foot tall, 175-ton statue of President Lincoln, himself looking out over the Mall of the country that he fought so hard to preserve and unite. The statue was designed by Daniel Chester French, who worked to depict Lincoln during the Civil War, stately and dignified. Interestingly, though the memorial was approved decades earlier, construction did not begin until 1914, and the memorial opened to the public in 1922.

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art

The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the neighboring Freer Gallery of Art together form the national museum of Asian art for the United States. As part of the Smithsonian Institution the galleries both are dedicated to advancing public knowledge about the arts and cultures of Asia through exhibitions, publications, research and education. The museums are located at 1050 Independence Avenue S.W and are open every day except Dec. 25. Hours are from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., and admission is free.

For more information go to www.sackler.org

Alexander Hamilton's American Revolution

Alexander Hamilton joined the American forces in the spring of 1775 at the age of eighteen, a recent immigrant from St. Croix who had quickly embraced the cause of American independence. During the Revolutionary War, Hamilton witnessed the horrors and heroism of battle as a field commander, and the challenges of maintaining a national army as the principal aide-de-camp to George Washington. As an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati and, later, its second president general, Hamilton supported his fellow veterans' mission to ensure the Revolution would not be forgotten. This exhibition explores how Hamilton's participation in the struggle for American independence helped to shape his vision for the new nation and its institutions.

To learn more go to The Society of the Cincinnati website

The Society of the Cincinnati

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (FDR)

Wander through this sprawling memorial, uniquely designed to guide visitors through FDR’s four presidential terms.

A visit to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial is to be transported to a trying time in American history, an era rife with economic depression and international conflict. The memorial, which honors the 32nd president of the United States, is composed of four “rooms” which represent each of President Roosevelt’s four terms as commander in chief.

Bronze sculptures of the president, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, his trusty canine and First Pet Fala, as well as scenes from the Great Depression of fireside chats and waiting in bread lines are surrounded by engravings of 21 famous quotes and waterfalls cascading over red South Dakota granite. The memorial provides an in-depth experience and unparalleled insight into the trials and tribulations of America’s longest serving president.

Planning your visit to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

The FDR Memorial, which is located along the National Mall's Tidal Basin in between the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jefferson memorials, opened to the public in 1997 and is maintained by the National Park Service. Like all the monuments and memorials on the National Mall, the FDR Memorial is free and open to the public. The memorial is also the first on the National Mall to be built wheelchair accessible. Given its location on the Tidal Basin among the cherry blossom trees, it is especially popular to visit during the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

The most convenient way to get to the memorial is by taking the Metrorail. The two closest Metro stops are Federal Triangle and Smithsonian, both on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines. If traveling by bus, take DC Circulator’s National Mall route or ride Metrobus routes 32, 34 or 36. If driving, visitor parking is available on Ohio Drive, between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials. Handicapped parking spaces are set aside at locations on West Basin Drive in front of the memorial. Note that street parking is often limited in DC.

National Museum of Women in the Arts

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts.

With its collections, exhibitions, programs, and online content, the museum seeks to inspire dynamic exchanges about art and ideas. NMWA advocates for better representation of women artists and serves as a vital center for thought leadership, community engagement, and social change. NMWA addresses the gender imbalance in the presentation of art by bringing to light important women artists of the past while promoting great women artists working today.

To fulfill this mission, NMWA:

• Displays and preserves a collection of more than 5,000 objects
• Presents ten world-class exhibitions featuring women artists each year
• Runs an acclaimed public programs initiative highlighting the power of women and the arts as catalysts for change
• Offers education curricula and programs for learners of all ages
• Maintains a 17,500-volume library and research center
• Serves as a leading resource for facts about gender disparity in the arts
• Highlights women artists on its website, blog, and social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
• Publishes art history books and a triannual magazine
• Sponsors twenty national and international outreach committees, whose members serve as NMWA ambassadors and advocate for artists in their regions

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Mission Statement

The National Museum of Women in the Arts brings recognition to the achievements of women artists of all periods and nationalities by exhibiting, preserving, acquiring, and researching art by women and by teaching the public about their accomplishments. To learn more go to www.nmwa.org

Newseum

The mission of the Newseum, located in Washington, D.C., is to increase public understanding of the importance of a free press and the First Amendment. Visitors experience the story of news, the role of a free press in major events in history, and how the core freedoms of the First Amendment — religion, speech, press, assembly and petition — apply to their lives.

Considered one of the most interactive museums in the world, the Newseum has seven levels with 15 galleries and 15 theaters. Exhibits include the 9/11 Gallery Sponsored by Comcast, which displays the broadcast antennae from the top of the World Trade Center; the Berlin Wall Gallery, whose eight concrete sections are one of the largest displays of the original wall outside Germany; and the Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery, which features photographs from every Pulitzer Prize–winning entry dating back to 1942.

The Newseum Institute is the education and outreach partner of the Newseum, including the First Amendment Center, the Religious Freedom Center and NewseumED, an online learning platform for teachers and students.

Featuring dramatic vistas of Washington, D.C., the Newseum has become one of the city’s most sought-after venues for conferences, weddings, movie premieres and special events. Two state-of-the-art television studios host programs of all kinds, which are broadcast around the world each week.

The Newseum is a 501(c)(3) public charity funded by generous individuals, corporations and foundations, including its principal funder, the Freedom Forum.

To learn more go to www.newseum.org

Hirshhorn Lobby & Museum

New year, new look! For the first time in the Hirshhorn’s 42-year history, internationally acclaimed Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto (b. 1948, Tokyo) will reimagine the Hirshhorn’s lobby as an immersive, functional artwork, giving visitors an entirely new community space for creative inspiration.

The redesign will also include the debut of ‘Dolcezza Coffee & Gelato at Hirshhorn,’ the Museum’s first permanent coffee shop and the only locally owned café at the Smithsonian, offering specialty espresso drinks, gourmet pastries, and handcrafted seasonal gelato.

National Gallery of Art

 

he National Gallery of Art was conceived and given to the people of the United States by Andrew W. Mellon (1855–1937). Mellon was a financier and art collector from Pittsburgh who came to Washington in 1921 to serve as secretary of the treasury. During his years of public service he came to believe that the United States should have a national art museum equal to those of other great nations.

In 1936 Mellon wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt offering to donate his superb art collection for a new museum and to use his own funds to construct a building for its use. With the president’s support, Congress accepted Mellon’s gift, which included a sizable endowment, and established the National Gallery of Art in March 1937. Construction began that year at a site on the National Mall along Constitution Avenue between Fourth and Seventh Street NW, near the foot of Capitol Hill.

West Building: Design, Construction, and Dedication
Andrew Mellon selected American architect John Russell Pope (1874–1937) to design the building for the new museum. This edifice, now known as the West Building, has formal public entrances on all four sides. Its main floor plan is centered on a rotunda that was modeled after the ancient Roman Pantheon. To the east and west of the Rotunda, barrel-vaulted sculpture halls lead to garden courts, where greenery and fountains provide a restful haven for visitors. Interconnected exhibition galleries extend to the north and south of these large public spaces in such a way that, in principle, a visitor can begin in one room and proceed through the collection without backtracking.

The West Building was designed in a classicizing style but built using the most modern technology of the time. Its exterior was constructed of pale pink Tennessee marble, while its foundations and first floor were formed of concrete with a steel framework. Polished limestone from Indiana and Alabama covers the walls on its main floor, and the Rotunda columns were fabricated in Vermont from Italian marble. The architect recognized the importance of natural light to illuminate and unite the exhibition spaces. To achieve this, he specified that skylights should cover virtually the entire three-acre roof.

Because Mellon believed that visitors should learn from as well as enjoy the art in the collection, works are exhibited by period and national origin in appropriately decorated galleries. The Italian Renaissance galleries, for instance, have Italian travertine wainscot and hand-finished plaster walls and are detailed with base and door surround moldings and include built-in niches to display sculpture, while Dutch 17th-century galleries are finished with wood paneling to evoke original settings.

Andrew Mellon and John Russell Pope died within 24 hours of each other in August 1937, not long after excavation for the West Building’s foundations had begun, but the museum was built in accordance with their concepts. Construction was completed by December 1940, and works of art were installed in the new galleries over the following months. The National Gallery of Art was dedicated on March 17, 1941, with Paul Mellon presenting the museum on behalf of his father, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt accepting the gift for the nation.

The Collection
When the National Gallery of Art opened to the public, the nucleus of its world-class collection consisted of 126 paintings and 26 sculptures given by Andrew Mellon—from Jan van Eyck’s Annunciation and Raphael’s Alba Madonna to Francisco de Goya’s Marquesa de Pontejos and Gilbert Stuart’s The Skater. Yet Mellon insisted that the museum not bear his name, believing that it should be a truly national institution and knowing that it would depend on generous gifts of art from many individuals to fill its spacious galleries. Thanks to this foresight, other major donors were already giving their collections to the new museum before its opening.

In 1939 Samuel H. Kress (1863–1955) of New York donated 375 Italian paintings and 18 sculptures, which were on view with the Andrew Mellon collection when the museum opened in March 1941. In subsequent years he donated other important works, including the magnificent Adoration of the Magi tondo by Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi and Laocoön by El Greco. Later Samuel Kress’ brother Rush Kress (1876–1963) and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation refined and supplemented the Kress Collection at the National Gallery of Art.

The splendid art collection first assembled by P.A.B. Widener (1834–1915) of Philadelphia and later enhanced by his son Joseph Widener (1871–1943) had been offered to the new National Gallery of Art in 1939. The gift could not be completed, however, until the federal government agreed to pay taxes to the state of Pennsylvania. This was accomplished through an act of Congress in 1942. Over the succeeding months the Widener Collection—including The Mill by Rembrandt van Rijn, A Woman Weighing Gold by Johannes Vermeer, The Feast of the Gods by Giovanni Bellini, and a wealth of sculpture, Chinese porcelain, and decorative arts—was installed at the National Gallery of Art.

In 1943 Lessing J. Rosenwald (1891–1979), also of Philadelphia, offered his exceptional collection of prints and drawings to the Gallery at the same time that he offered his illustrated books to the Library of Congress. The Rosenwald collection of graphic arts were considered the finest in private hands at the time, and the collector continued to acquire new works and add to his gifts to both institutions until his death. Eventually Rosenwald gave the Gallery some 22,000 prints and drawings, including more than 350 woodcuts from the 15th century—the largest group of these rare items outside Europe—and works by such artists as Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, William Blake, Honoré Daumier, Paul Gauguin, and Pablo Picasso.

Chester Dale (1883–1962) of New York, a passionate collector of French and American art, supported the fledgling National Gallery of Art by lending seven American paintings for its opening in 1941 and 25 important French paintings later that year, selected to show the development of French art from the late 18th to the beginning of the 20th century. Dale made his first gift to the Gallery in 1943, donating 23 American and old master paintings, notably Both Members of This Club by George Bellows. Throughout his life Dale expanded his gifts and loans, eventually bequeathing the bulk of his remarkable collection to the Gallery in 1962, including Edouard Manet’s Old Musician, Picasso’s Family of Saltimbanques, and major works by leading impressionist, post-impressionist, and modern artists.

Andrew Mellon’s children, Ailsa Mellon Bruce (1901–1969) and Paul Mellon (1907–1999), also became lifelong benefactors of the National Gallery of Art. Ailsa gave the museum many exquisite works of art, including a choice group of small French paintings, and she provided funds for the purchase of such masterpieces as Ginevra de’ Benci, the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Americas. Paul Mellon, along with his wife Rachel Lambert Mellon, gave the Gallery more than 1,000 works of art over the course of his life, in addition to generous acquisition funds. His extraordinary gifts include some 350 paintings of American Indians by George Catlin, the iconic Boy in a Red Waistcoat by Paul Cézanne, and the largest collection of original sculpture by Edgar Degas in the world, including 49 waxes and 10 bronzes.

These individuals whose generous contributions first established the National Gallery of Art as an art museum of the highest rank are recognized as Founding Benefactors. Each donor presented a private collection that could have constituted a museum in itself. Instead, their combined gifts set a precedent for giving to the nation that continues to this day.

The National Gallery of Art assumed stewardship of a world-renowned collection of paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, prints, drawings, and photographs with the closing of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in late 2014. Founded in 1869 by Washington banker and philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran (1798–1888), the Corcoran was America’s first cultural institution to be established expressly as an art museum. Mr. Corcoran’s founding mission of “encouraging American genius” articulated his national aspirations for the institution, and this guiding principle informed collection and exhibition strategies throughout the museum’s 145-year history. The 2015–2016 acquisition of more than 8,000 works of art from the Corcoran collection of over 17,000 objects marks yet another transformative moment in the Gallery's history, one that deepens and expands public access to the country’s diverse cultural legacy.

East Building
Andrew Mellon had anticipated that the collections of the National Gallery of Art would grow beyond the capacity of its original building, and at his request, Congress had set aside an adjacent plot of land for future use when it first established the National Gallery. By the time of the museum’s 25th anniversary in 1966, with most of its original galleries filled, space was needed for expansion.

In 1967 Andrew Mellon’s children, Paul Mellon and Ailsa Mellon Bruce, offered funds for a second building, and architect I. M. Pei (b. 1917) was selected to design it. The structure he conceived is modernist in style and was inspired and informed by its trapezoidal site, located between Pennsylvania Avenue and the National Mall and between Third and Fourth Streets NW. To emphasize the connection between the two buildings, Pei placed the entrance to the East Building on Fourth Street, across an open plaza from the West Building. He divided the floor plan into two triangles: an isosceles triangle for exhibition spaces and public functions; and a smaller right triangle for an administrative and study center. These triangular shapes define the building’s major spaces and are echoed and repeated in architectural elements throughout. A large triangular atrium is the dramatic focus of the building’s interior public space. A sculptural space frame covers the atrium and allows brilliant natural light to enter the building.

Much of the structure’s elegance results from its extraordinary building materials, spare lines, and soaring forms. The Tennessee quarries that supplied the marble for the West Building were reopened for the East Building to effect a visual harmony between the structures. An underground concourse and street-level cobblestone plaza provide a physical link between the two buildings. Seven glass tetrahedrons and a cascading waterfall in the plaza bring light and motion to the underground space.

Construction of the East Building began in 1971 and progressed slowly for seven years as workmen labored to realize the architect’s ambitious design goals. At the same time, artists such as Henry Moore and Alexander Calder were commissioned to create works for the East Building. On June 1, 1978, Paul Mellon and United States president Jimmy Carter dedicated the new museum to the people of the United States.

National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden
In 1966 the National Gallery of Art entered a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service to create a sculpture garden on the site immediately to the west of the original building. More than 30 years later, the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden opened to the public on May 23, 1999. Major funding for the design and creation of the garden was provided by the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.

Designed by landscape architect Laurie D. Olin, the six-acre garden is an outdoor gallery for monumental sculpture. Amid curvilinear beds of American plants and arcing pathways, visitors encounter such works as Spider by Louise Bourgeois, House I by Roy Lichtenstein, Thinker on a Rock by Barry Flanagan, and Graft by Roxy Paine. A circular reflecting pool and fountain form the center of the design, continuing the long axis defined by the spine of the West Building. The pool is transformed into an ice-skating rink in winter. The geometric formality of the reflecting pool and fountain links the design of the garden to the classicism of the West Building. The benches that surround the fountain and the piers at the garden entrances are made of the same Tennessee marble that had been used for both the East and West Buildings. A low granite curb surrounding the garden echoes that of the West Building across the street.

Exhibitions
Loan exhibitions have been an important aspect of the programs at the National Gallery of Art since it first opened to the public. While the Gallery’s collection comprises primarily European and American art from the Renaissance to the present day, loan exhibitions enable the museum to display art from a wider range of cultures and time periods, including Art of Aztec Mexico (1983), The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (1987), Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia (1997), and Edo: Art in Japan (1998–1999). They also allow the Gallery to show works in its own collection alongside related works from around the world, as was the case for Alexander Calder (1998), O’Keeffe on Paper (2000), Looking In: Robert Frank’s “The Americans” (2009), and George Bellows (2012).

In the West Building, temporary exhibitions are often installed in the Central Gallery and outer and inner tier galleries on the Ground Floor as well as in selected Main Floor galleries. In the East Building, large flexible spaces can be transformed to present exhibitions as elaborate and varied as Treasure Houses of Britain (1985–1986) and Art Nouveau (2000–2001). Three corner towers hold rooms that can be reconfigured to accommodate the needs of special loan shows and installations. Spiral stairs connect different levels of gallery spaces in the towers.

Several exhibitions in addition to those mentioned above have acquired an historic stature in the annals of the Gallery, among them “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci (1963), Treasures of Tutankhamun (1976–1977), Johannes Vermeer (1995–1996), and Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Ito Jakuchu (2012). Exhibitions can be large or small, focused or comprehensive, but all seek to enhance scholarship and provide educational opportunities for visitors of all backgrounds.

Programs and Events
Educational and enrichment programs for visitors, both virtual and in person, are central to the mission of the National Gallery of Art. Beginning in 1942, a series of free Sunday evening concerts has featured the National Gallery Orchestra as well as musicians and ensembles from around the world. With programs offered in the fall and winter to the present day, this is considered the oldest continuous series of free weekly concerts in Washington, DC. Not only exhibitions and concerts but also public tours have been offered since the time of the Gallery’s opening and are now conducted almost daily. Museum staff and docents give gallery talks and tours of the collection and special exhibitions, with tours conducted in foreign languages at specific dates and times. The National Gallery has also been a leader in developing self-guided audio tours, which are available for the permanent collection in the West Building and for selected temporary exhibitions.

Highly acclaimed films and lectures are presented regularly, free of charge, in the East Building Auditorium and occasionally in the West Building Lecture Hall. Films screened every weekend in the East Building often relate to Gallery exhibitions but also constitute independent series. Lectures include not only individual Sunday lectures on the collection or specific exhibitions but also well-known series such as the Andrew W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Lecture Series (featuring distinguished artists), the Elson Lecture Series (featuring contemporary artists whose work is represented in the Gallery’s collection), the Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art, and the Wyeth Lectures in American Art. Public symposia are organized for selected exhibitions. Visitor guides, calendars, flyers, and brochures available online and at the Information Desks near entrances to both the East and West Buildings provide maps and program listings. “Less than an hour?” guides enable visitors to view highlights in both East and West Buildings.

Very active and popular programs for children and for students and teachers are designed to reach enthusiastic groups of visitors through family activities, films for children and teens, volunteer opportunities, school tours, high school seminars, teacher workshops, and an annual teacher institute that explores a particular subject in considerable depth. Year-round programs bring children and youth to the museum with their families or teachers to learn about art in creative and engaging ways, beginning at age 4 with Stories in Art and at age 8 with Artful Conversations.

Research
The Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts was established at the National Gallery as an integral part of the opening of the East Building in 1978. It brings scholars together in close relationship to the Gallery’s art collection and museum colleagues, enhancing the understanding of art and architecture. The Center (also known as CASVA) hosts visiting scholars from around the world through sponsored professorships and fellowships; it organizes meetings and symposia related to its members’ research; and it publishes volumes in connection with its symposia, seminars, and long-term research projects.

A major art research library located in the East Building houses a collection of more than 400,000 books, periodicals, and documents on the history, theory, and criticism of art and architecture. The emphasis is on Western art from the Middle Ages to the present, including monographs, exhibition and collection catalogues, and an exceptional selection of rare books. Its department of image collections holds some 13 million photographs, slides, negatives, and microform images of Western art and architecture. Readers may make an appointment to use the National Gallery Library on weekdays.

The Gallery Archives holds documents, photographs, architectural drawings, and digital files relating to the history of the National Gallery of Art and its building campus. It is the primary source of information concerning past activities, exhibitions, and events at the National Gallery of Art, and for the design and construction of its buildings.

Horticulture
Indoor and outdoor gardens are an important part of the West Building’s original design. The interior Garden Courts feature tropical foliage and provide a place of relaxation for visitors, while the exterior fountains and surrounding landscape enhance the entrances to the building. Changing floral displays include seasonal arrangements of flowering plants in the Rotunda such as the Ames-Haskell azalea collection, given in honor of the Gallery’s 50th anniversary in 1991.

For more than 50 years, plants have also played a role in specific exhibitions. In 1953 displays of orchids from Dumbarton Oaks enriched the presentation of Japanese Painting and Sculpture from the Sixth Century A.D. to the Nineteenth Century. In 1976 The Eye of Thomas Jefferson included a garden with more than 500 plants from some 30 species of interest to Jefferson. In 1988–1989, for Japan: The Shaping of Daimyo Culture, the National Gallery constructed a teahouse and traditional garden on the main floor of the East Building, where tea ceremonies were held on several occasions. And in 2008–2009 Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples featured plantings typically found in villa gardens.

Plants are an essential element in the East Building, with interior trees in the atrium bringing a sense of scale to the enormous space. Following construction, more than 250 new trees were planted around the building and on the plaza between the East and West Buildings. Noted landscape architect Dan Kiley was the primary landscape consultant for the East Building project.

With the opening of the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden in May 1999, horticulture gained new prominence on the Gallery campus. Concentric circles of Littleleaf Lindens surround the fountain at the center of the garden, while plantings of native American trees, shrubs, ground covers, perennials, and flowering annuals provide a distinctive setting for the installation of monumental works of modern and contemporary sculpture. (From the National Gallery of Art website)