Visit National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Museum with Stephen.
Your guided art tour will focus on the European Art Collection of the Museum. You will begin your tour at the start of the Italian Renaissance and work your way up through art history to see top examples of Baroque Era, Romanticism, Rococo, and finally ending in French Impressionism. Each painting has a tale to tell that is quite entertaining.
Find Influential Artists highly talented and some less familiar.
You will see famous artists such as Duccio di Buoninsegna, Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi, Leonardo da Vinci, Giovanni Bellini, Dosso Dossi, El Greco, Louis Vallée, Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Judith Leyster, Sir Anthony van Dyck, Willem Claesz Heda, Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt, Francisco de Goya, Jean Honoré Fragonard, Jacques-Louis David, John Singleton Copley, James McNeill Whistler, Frederic Edwin Church, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Edgar Degas, Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet.
About the Museum's Collection
When the National Gallery opened to the public, the nucleus of its world-class collection was 126 paintings and 26 sculptures given by Andrew Mellon—from Raphael’s Alba Madonna to Francisco de Goya’s Marquesa de Pontejos and Giovanni Bologna’s Mercury, which currently adorns the central fountain in the Rotunda. 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. The National Gallery became a “collection of collections” thanks to the generosity of founding benefactors Samuel H. Kress, Rush Kress, P. A. B. Widener, Joseph Widener, Lessing J. Rosenwald, Chester Dale, Ailsa Mellon Bruce, and Paul Mellon.
In the years since Andrew Mellon’s first gift, the National Gallery’s collection has grown to more than 150,000 works thanks to the generosity of other individuals and foundations.
Duration: 2 Hours.
Group Size 1 - 20 people.
Location:
National Gallery of Art Washington, D.C. 6th St NW & Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004
Group Meets:
Inside the West Building entrance at 6th Street and Constitution Avenue. This is the entrance that is on the opposite side of the National Mall. There is a coat check office, very fancy cafe, and information desk.
How to Get to the Museum:
The Museum campus is located at the North side of the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets along Constitutional Avenue N.W. The Museum has very limited parking. The 6th Street entrance to the West Building has a ramp to accommodate wheelchairs and strollers, and elevators at these entrances provide access to galleries and public areas.
Your Guide:
Stephen lived in London until ten years ago, where he was invited to lead tours of exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum and give talks for the National Arts Collection Fund (UK) and worked for many educational institutions in Britain. Since moving to the DC area, he has led many tours of the capital’s museums and monuments for tourists, student groups and adults. Stephen is also a professional storyteller and brings his skills in storytelling to the historical and artistic areas he covers in his tours, providing both an educational and enjoyable experience.
