Best things to do in DC: An Art Aficionado’s Guide to must-see Galleries

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The National Gallery of Art guides Washingtonians and visitors through the world of art all day, every day (except Christmas and New Year's Day). The National Gallery consists of the West Building (opened in 1941), the East Building (1978) and the 6.1-acre Sculpture Garden adjacent to the West Building (1999). Don't be daunted by the size, the National Gallery has prepared "Highlights" guides for half-hour and one-hour visits. Scores of guided tours are scheduled throughout each day (too many to list here), gallery talks and lectures are held throughout the month. Free Sunday concerts take place in the West Building, usually starting at 6:30 but check ahead. The East Building Auditorium hosts original format film screenings every Saturday and Sunday (plus a few weekdays) free of charge (first come first served) with doors opening thirty minutes before each show. To the delight of locals and visitors, the Sculpture Garden ice rink is open mid-November through mid-March! It's about the only activity that is not free, but at $7 for adults and $6 for seniors, students and kids (skate rental $3), it's a lot of fun for a little money. Aside from all this, visitors can still walk in off the... read more

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The Smithsonian Institution's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden invites everyone in to explore modern and contemporary art. Gordon Bunshaft designed the Hirshhorn building itself as a "functional sculpture." Elevated above manicured sculpture grounds, the four-story hollow cylinder encircles a 60-foot fountain visible from every interior window. Since each floor is a large ring, navigating the museum is very intuitive; you progress through the curved galleries and end up exactly where you began then proceed to the next floor. The Hirshhorn continuously seeks and acquires important works by current artists, hosts traveling exhibits, and features installations with the artists on hand for discussion. Meet at the information desk on Fridays at 12:30 pm for gallery talks by visiting curators, professors and artists. Thursdays offer a mix of contemporary films and meet-the-artist events in the Ring Auditorium. Every few months brings the Hirshhorn After Hours where art and nightlife come together with DJs, artists, cocktails and dancing. Check website or visit the information desk for current schedule. After Hours events are $10 advance, $12 at the door, but most other events are free,... read more

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Charles Lang Freer, a collector of Asian and American art from the 19th and early 20th centuries, gave the nation 9,000 of these works for his namesake gallery's 1923 opening. Freer's original interest was American art, but his good friend James McNeill Whistler encouraged him to collect Asian works as well. Eventually the latter became predominant. Freer's gift included funds to construct a museum and an endowment to add to the Asian collection, which now numbers more than 26,000 objects and spans 6,000 years. It includes Chinese and Japanese sculpture, lacquer, metalwork, and ceramics; early Christian illuminated manuscripts; Iranian manuscripts, metalwork, and miniatures; ancient Near Eastern metalware; and South Asian sculpture and paintings.

The Freer is mostly about Asian art, but it also displays some of the more than 1,200 American works (the world's largest collection) by Whistler. Most remarkable and always on view is the famous Harmony in Blue and Gold, the Peacock Room. Originally a dining room designed for the London mansion of F. R. Leyland, the Peacock Room displayed a Whistler painting called The Princess from the Land of Porcelain. But after his painting was installed,...

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Asian art is the focus of this museum and the neighboring Freer (together, they form the National Museum of Asian Art in the United States). The Sackler opened in 1987, thanks to Arthur M. Sackler's gift of 1,000 priceless works. Since then, the museum has received 11th- to 19th-century Persian and Indian paintings, manuscripts, calligraphies, miniatures, bookbindings from the collection of Henri Vever, and art collector Robert O. Muller's entire collection of 4,000 Japanese prints and archival materials.

Your visit begins in the entrance pavilion, where a series of rotating installations, collectively titled "Perspectives," showcases the works of contemporary artists from Asia and the Asian Diaspora. The Sackler is preparing you to appreciate the less familiar aspects of Asian art and culture.

The Sackler's permanent collection displays Khmer ceramics; ancient Chinese jades, bronzes, paintings, and lacquerware; 20th-century Japanese ceramics and works on paper; ancient Near Eastern works in silver, gold, bronze, and clay; stone and bronze sculptures from South and Southeast Asia; and a sumptuous graphic arts inventory covering a century of work by Japanese master printmakers. Supplementing...

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This lovely brasserie lies within one of Washington's coolest hotels, the Monaco. You find its separate entrance via an arched carriageway that leads to a stone-paved courtyard, where the restaurant sets up tables in warm weather. Inside, past a small bar-lounge, is the dining area, which includes an exhibition kitchen, banquettes, and a quieter back room. Poste chef Robert Weland has established himself well, settling into a pleasant culinary groove that wins praise from local critics and diners. Weland uses seasonal local ingredients to create modern American fare heavily influenced by traditional French cuisine. At lunch that means a croque-monsieur is made with Virginia ham and Gruyère on brioche; at dinner, your selections may include French onion soup, herbed fresh ricotta ravioli, red wine-braised rabbit, steak frites, and cassoulet. Desserts, too, blend French and American tastes; try the chocolate pot de crème (custard), which lists chili (!) as an ingredient. A wine list of 100 California and French bottles offers nearly 30 wines by the glass.

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Hotel Monaco in Washington DC, located in the historic Tariff Building, used to be one of the city's most prominent historical landmarks. In the old days, this lovely four-star hotel was the General Post Office's building, also known as the Tariff building. Refurbished in 2002, the hotel boasts spacious, well-equipped rooms that are perfect for any weary and discerning traveler. Designed by Robert Mills, architect of the Washington Monument, this building was completed in 1842 as the first all-marble building in the city.

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The first art museum in Washington, the Corcoran Gallery, founded by Washington philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran in 1869, focuses on American Art. The rotating main collection includes a variety of American art spanning from older pieces to modern works by Nevelson, Warhol, and Rothko. The building of the Corcoran is in itself impressive, and its convenient location between the White House, the National Mall, and many of the national monuments make it an easily accessible museum for locals and tourists alike. Also home to a school of art, the Corcoran Gallery is well-known for its wide variety of rotating exhibitions. For the most up to date information, see http://www.corcoran.org/exhibitions/index.htm.

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This museum marked its 20th anniversary in 2007, its stunning collection still the foremost museum in the world dedicated to celebrating "the contribution of women to the history of art." Founders Wilhelmina and Wallace Holladay, who donated the core of the permanent collection -- more than 250 works by women from the 16th to the 20th century -- became interested in women's art in the 1960s. After discovering that no women were included in H. W. Janson's History of Art, a standard text (which did not address this oversight until 1986!), the Holladays began collecting art by women, and the concept of a women's art museum soon evolved.

Since its opening, the collection has grown to more than 3,000 works by more than 800 artists, including Rosa Bonheur, Frida Kahlo, Helen Frankenthaler, Barbara Hepworth, Georgia O'Keeffe, Camille Claudel, Lila Cabot Perry, Mary Cassatt, Elaine de Kooning, Käthe Kollwitz, and many other lesser-known artists from earlier centuries. You will discover here, for instance, that the famed Peale family of 19th-century portrait painters included a talented sister, Sarah Miriam Peale. The collection is complemented by an ongoing series of changing exhibits. You...

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Set among the fashionable Foxhall Road estates in upper northwest Washington, the former residence of Carmen and David Kreeger holds a marvelous collection of 19th and 20th century art. Artists such as Picasso, Van Gogh, Kandinsky and Rodin are represented, among other luminaries. A fine collection of African art is also housed here. The Kreeger Museum requires some advance planning to visit since reservations are required to join the docent-led tours, but the effort is well worth it.

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From El Greco's "The Visitation" to Byzantine and pre-Columbian artworks, jewelry and mosaics, this restored mansion is filled with elegant treasures. Built in 1801, the estate achieved its height of glory in the wealthy 1920s when it served as the high-society showpiece of Robert Bliss and his heiress wife, Mildred. The gardens occupy 10 acres above Georgetown and include terraced lawns, winding footpaths and elaborate fountains.

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Bistrot Lepic is little in size, but big in atmosphere. While the downstairs is a bit more formal, with classic French cuisine and a cozy feel, the upstairs wine bar is lively, funky and lounge-y, with a full menu and views out onto the street. The wine list includes over 500 fine wines, and the staff is extremely knowledgeable about them. There is an additional room for private parties.