National Gallery of Art Exhibit, Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture
Friday November 7, 2008
One of DC's greatest treasures is its museums. They offer visitors such a rich experience. My favorite is the National Gallery of Art. Washington, DC's National Gallery of Art’s most recent exhibit, Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples offers an incredible glimpse into the rich and magnificent culture of the ill-fated Roman city of Pompeii. Read more.
Photo: Pierre-Jacques Volaire, The Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, 1777, oil on canvas, North Carolina Museum of Art, Purchased with funds from the Alcy C. Kendrick Bequest and from the State of North Carolina, by exchange.
While most of the museums that line the National Mall are part of the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art is not. It is an independent art museum created with Andrew Mellon’s collection.
A portion of the Smithsonian art collection can be seen in the American Art Museum, the Portrait Gallery, the Hirshhorn, African Art, and in galleries of the Renwick, Sackler, Freer, and Dillon Ripley Center.
http://www.nga.gov/ginfo/aboutnga.shtm
“The National Gallery of Art was created in 1937 for the people of the United States of America by a joint resolution of Congress, accepting the gift of financier and art collector Andrew W. Mellon.”