The National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C.

The other gallery I spent an entire day enjoying on my D.C. trip was the National Portrait Gallery, which is connected to the Smithsonian American Art Museum. As the visitor's guide states, "Two Great Museums, One Incredible Place". This was my first time back there since the recent renovation and had I known how much there was to see I would have planned to spend a second day there.

Here are some views I shot of the interior:

The building is Greek revival in style and dates from the 1800s. In fact, it was the site of President Lincoln's second inaugural ball.

Structurally, it is similar to an Italian villa, where there is a central open courtyard, which is surrounded by the actual building. Picture left and right bracket keys on a keyboard joined together.

By far the coolest new feature is the contemporary yet elegant, undulating glass and steel dome that was built over that courtyard, which lets natural light flood the place during daylight hours.

What an enjoyable place to eat and relax, after seeing some amazing paintings­! I’ll show you some of my favorites of those paintings next post.

Lunchtime!

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