*++MAPS

Art Gallery Field Trip 2010 What’s to See in Washington D.C?  This museum is several blocks away from the other museums on the National Mall, but it is worth the walk to get there. Recently remodeled, it contains a collection of all styles of American art from colonial times to the present. This is the oldest of the Smithsonian art galleries, located up the street from the Hirshhorn. The regular collection contains ancient Chinese pottery, Buddhist art, Chinese celadon ceramics, Egyptian glass and sculpture, some American art, and more. Of special interest is __The Peacock Room__, designed and made by the American Impressionist painter James McNeill Whistler. This room is a “must” for anyone interested in interior design. This is an underground art gallery located near the Freer Gallery. The collections here feature art from Ancient Iran (Persia), India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Painting, ceramics, porcelains, crafts, and metalwork will be on display. The gift shop is very interesting, especially if you have an appreciation for Oriental objects. This museum is located near the Sackler Gallery, and is also underground. It features a growing collection of contemporary African art, and the more “traditional” African art objects, such as masks, pottery and ceramics, musical instruments, and more. The museum shop here is also worth visiting. Among other things, you can buy masks and handcrafted musical instruments.
 * __ National Gallery of Art __**
 * __ West __****__ Building __** This is the original National Gallery of Art building. It is very classical in its style. This museum holds great works of art from the past eight centuries. Works by Da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, Thomas Cole, Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso are included in this collection along with hundreds of other masterpieces. It is huge, made up of many small gallery rooms, and each one holds a treasure. Don’t try to see everything. Just walk through, look around, and stop to study the work that attracts your attention.
 * __ East Building __** This building, designed by the world-renowned architect I.M. Pei in the 1970s, is a work of art in itself, with a very angular, almost wedge-like form made of huge blocks of marble. It is an addition to the National Gallery was opened in 1976. The museum’s centerpiece is a large hanging mobile designed especially for this building by Alexander Calder. It was the last work of art created by Calder, who didn’t live to see it installed in the museum. In this building you will find modern art, made by many of the artists we discussed through the years in art class. All kinds of 2D and 3D art forms are represented in this collection.
 * __ National __****__ Gallery Sculpture Garden __** This large sculpture garden just opened in 1999; don’t confuse it with the older Hirshhorn Museum Sculpture Garden. They are separate places, each with its own personality. This garden features three-dimensional work by many important artists, including the Pop Artists Claes Oldenburg and Roy Lichtenstein. A variety of styles are shown, mostly made of stone, bronze or steel. Look at art in a sculpture garden the same way as you would in the gallery except for one major difference; here you should look at the work from all sides.
 * __ Hirshhorn __****__ Museum __**
 * __ Hirshhorn Museum Galleries __** The Hirshhorn Museum and all of the following museums on this list are part of the Smithsonian Institution. The Hirshhorn is an easily recognizable cylinder-shaped building, and is the home of an important collection of modern art. Hirshhorn was the name of the man who collected much of the art that is now on display in this museum. When he died, his collection was willed to the Smithsonian with the condition that a building be created to house it. The regular collection of modern art in the Hirshhorn is always interesting, and there are always a few examples of art by new and important young artists.
 * __ Hirshhorn __****__ Sculpture Gardens __** Across the street is the Hirshhorn’s outdoor sculpture garden, which features an outstanding collection.
 * __ The Smithsonian American Art Museum __**
 * __ The Freer Gallery of Art __**
 * __ The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (Asian Art) __**
 * __ National __****__ Museum __****__ of African Art __**