An Artist’s First Visit to Washington DC

Mark Twain wrote, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

• Visiting Washington DC

• Friendship

• An Artist’s View

Travel is broadening.

VISITING DC

Many of you know Washington DC intimately.  However, for those who have not visited, read on! I stayed in the Rosslyn district of Arlington and was able to navigate the Metro from DCA Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and to the city easily. On a beautiful April day with white clouds gliding across the cobalt sky, I knew I had made a great choice. Any apprehension about  visiting the Capitol dissipated. The modern DC Metrorail has escalators at every turn. The rail system was built between 1969-1976. By comparison, the Paris Metro was begun in 1898 and has many, many stairways!

Capitol Hill and surrounding buildings are striking! My goal was to see the lay of the land. I headed toward the Capitol and the Library of Congress. As it was William Shakespeare’s birthday, I also headed toward the Folger Shakespeare Library. Alas, it is closed for renovation and will open on June 21. The Folger, an independent research library, has the world’s largest collection of the printed works of Shakespeare.

A small film team was shooting a documentary and I met the renovation architect who asked if I’d be willing to be a passerby in the documentary! I am not sure when I’ll get to see my 20 seconds of fame—but what fun!  

The Supreme Court, the Capitol from rear-north, Bas-relief outside the Folger Library - A Midsummer's Night Dream, the view of the Capitol from the Summerhouse - a structure built in the 1800's with water for visitors on horseback, a gracious member of the Capitol Grounds Arboretum, and aide Tom Morel from my Congressman's office where I obtained House and Senate passes

In 1791, George Washington asked Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French volunteer during the American Revolution, to design the new capital. It was to resemble Paris, with its boulevards and squares. Thomas Jefferson favored classical architecture which alludes to the architecture of  “democratic Athens and republican Rome.”

I obtained passes to see the House and the Senate from my congressman. At a special office for each chamber, one must turn in electronics and belongings (purse). The House was empty that day.  By 5 pm,when I visited the Senate only about 12 were on the floor.  I heard arguments by one not in my party, but nonetheless, it was a remarkable experience. My parents spoke of riding an underground train during the 1940s connecting the Capitol buildings.

Senators ride from the Russell Senate Office Building to the Capitol on an electric monorail, with cars that carried up to 18 people at a top speed of eight miles per hour. It operated from 1912 to 1960. credit: Library of Congress

Library of Congress stairs, Library of Congress viewed from top floor, one of the many ornate ceilings at the Library of Congress, United States Botanic Garden, look at hose orchids in the Botanic Garden restroom!, and the Monocle Restaurant (est. 1960)

Hungry and tired, I googled restaurants and found myself at an historic site – The Monocle. That day I clocked  8 miles total – up and down stairs and through tunnels. Yes, I was exhausted and developed a case of hiker’s rash (something new to me), a sign to slow down a bit. Our bodies speak! Listen!

SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS
The  Smithsonian is comprised of 21 museums.  Knowing I had to make choices, I began with the inaugural gowns of the First Ladies at the Museum of American History.  The exhibit brought tears to my eyes.  Dresses are very personal. They not only show individual taste - one can see the size of the owner!  The museum is a walk through time, space, emotions and geography.  I was a bit overwhelmed by the visual and sound effects. And LOTs of students!  I loved teaching, but each time a saw a weary teacher, I was grateful that it was not I!  I was happy to move on to the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM). The next day, I visited the National Gallery of Art.

FRIENDSHIP

A city is impressive, but our contacts with people are priceless. After visiting the Savannah home of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts, I was reminded of the Scout song, “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold.”

In Paris last fall, I had the good fortune to meet a woman who docents at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and I began to consider visiting DC. I also contacted a childhood friend who lives near DC. 

My new docent friend took me to see the iconic memorials: US Marine Corps War Memorial of soldiers raising the flag at Iwo Jima, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall,  and then we spent an inspiring day on Cathedral Hill near Georgetown University.

According to its website, the gothic National Cathedral is the world’s sixth-largest Cathedral. 40 of the stained glass windows were created by Rowan LeCompte, whose vision began in the 1930s when he first visited the Cathedral. They are strikingly modern.

That evening, we attended Principles & Politics: An Evening with Liz Cheney and Jon Meacham. One must admire her loyalty to her convictions. The event was at capacity; we had premier seating among the 2000 in about row 50. I had an opportunity to experience the real Washington, to hear and cheer. On another day, my friend met me at the National Gallery of Art, offering a bounty of knowledge.

My fourth grade friend selected Vue Rooftop at the top of Hotel Washington for our dinner where we had an incredible view of the sun setting over the White House — practically next door!

We caught up for 3 ½ hours! Friendships can be very unique. While we were best friends in fourth grade, our school district built a new schools and our paths parted for fifth grade and middle school. However, true friendship picks up where you left it; we had much to share about our lives’ journeys. I visited her parents in 2017, a year before they both passed. On that visit I remember imagining her mom saying, “It’s little Janis,” and sure enough, she did. Cherish your friendships!

My friend from fourth grade, the view from Vue, The National Cathedral from the garden, the "Space" window, the Rose window, docent explaining the arrangement of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial - one can find those who died on the same day or in same campaign displayed together or nearby, line of attendees to hear Liz Cheney, and our view of Liz Cheney at the National Cathedral

AN  ARTIST’S VIEW

My artist mother surrounded me with not only supplies and instruction, but a wide collection of books and posters. Her visit to the Capitol left quite an impression. Her watercolor paintings of George Washington’s Mount Vernon and Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage hung over my parents’ bed.

There is always so much more to learn! On the walls of the National Gallery of Art, I kept seeing old friends (paintings I had seen as reproductions in my mother’s collection).

Notable were James McNeill Whistler’s  “Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl.”  Rejected in 1862, little was known about the subject until the painting was featured in a 1994 exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. “James McNeill Whistler and his partner, the model Joanna Hiffernan, were not surprised when his painting of her was rejected from the Royal Academy of Arts’s 1862 Summer Exhibition. ‘Some stupid painters don’t understand it at all,’  wrote Hiffernan. ‘Jim says… the old duffers may refuse it altogether.’ ”~ The Arts Newspaper

Another remembered painting was “David with the Head of Goliath” by Andrea del Castagno, created around 1450–1457. Although its shape is unique, until I stood in front of the large work, I did not realize it is painted on a shield of leather and wood.

Whistler’s  “Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl.” The first photo shows to paintings of model Joanna Hiffernan, David with the Head of Goliath - Andrea del Castagno

I could reflect on 100 more paintings which I saw last week up close for the first time!

Notable were the portraits of the US Presidents in the National Portrait Gallery.

Somehow I did not know about Chuck Close’s portrait of Bill Clinton. Close was well known for his large photo realism portraits in the 1960s. In 1988, Close was at the height of his career as a portrait painter when he was stricken with a spinal blood clot that left him a quadriplegic. Close is most famous for his large-scale portraits that are divided into grids and painted. After his illness, he had to adapt to a special wheelchair. He also suffered from prosopagnosia, or face blindness, where one can't recognize faces. His later portraits, such as that of Bill Clinton, consisting of small blocks of design, are astonishing!

Chuck Close painting on mechanical easel, Bill Clinton portrait, Close with his hyper-realistic painting (photo credit http://markmcleod.org/wp_clevelandstateart/tag/photo-realism/g)

I enjoyed seeing the Elaine de Kooning’s painting of John F. Kennedy. It was notable for a woman to be selected as the artist. She said it was “not a portrait of John F. Kennedy but a glimpse.” Less than two years after Kennedy’s assassination abruptly stole him from the nation, she said: “President Kennedy was never still. He slipped by us.” De Kooning had been commissioned in 1962, and she spent several sessions with him in Palm Beach. At the time she said she preferred for her subjects to sit still, but Kennedy was constantly surrounded by activity.” After the assassination, the grief-stricken artist painted the president’s image obsessively; finally saying she caught only “a glimpse” of him. ~ Smithsonian Magazine

My personal favorite painting of JFK is the official portrait by Aaron Shikler.

And, of course, what a thrill to view Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of Barack Obama. I had seen a fabulous Kehinde Wiley exhibit in Paris at the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac (at the advice of my docent friend!) but not the Obama portrait!

JFK by Elaine deKooning (close-up) JFK by Aaron Shikler, Jacqueline Kennedy by Aaron Shikler (close-up))

I always plan to travel sketch and I sketched – twice—not bad. You learn many things about a building by studying it and drawing-even for a brief time!
E pluribus unum “out of many, one”   

I have been asked if this visit to the capital  bolstered my feelings about our country and feelings of patriotism  – and I will say that during this election year, I felt it was an important pilgrimage. The beauty and design of the city is impressive and rivals capitals I have visited in Europe. Our nation is still an experiment in democracy, tested daily. We are not yet 250 years old. I pray that our path remains true to integrity and justice.

I believe the words of the Preamble to the Constitution state our goals well, today as they did when written:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Monuments in Washington DC pay tribute to those who have fought for liberty and justice and to preserve our nation. The museums attest to human intellect, achievement, creativity and perseverance of a people whose origins are from around the globe. Every part of my experience exceeded my expectations, and I recommend a visit.  MIND BODY SPIRIT SOUL were uplifted.

Parting Thoughts

• Travel if you can and you cannot, museums, galleries, architectural wonders are easily researched virtually – and in one of my old favorites, books!

• Cherish and nurture friendships!  Call, email, text and another old favorite, write letters and cards!

• Lessons about art (or any skill) by a parent or encouraging adult last a lifetime.

I’d love to hear your travel experiences, reactions and lessons learned!  Questions are always welcome.

Inspired by all of you,