Washington, D.C., to my surprise, has quite a few pieces from the 250…or pieces very similar so I “count” them. However, I would be remiss by saying you should ONLY go to museums with pieces from the 250. There are many amazing & FREE Smithsonian Museums that I highly recommend.
Vietnam Memorial, National Mall
This piece is kinda hard to miss, especially if you are doing the required National Mall “monuments” round. It was especially touching while we were there because there were families placing flags for their dearly departed and there were some information papers left around with short biographies of the fallen left by loved ones. I read one of the papers that talked about the high school this soldier went to, the names of his parents, and wife. It makes these names come to life when you can learn about their background. It is always open because it’s outside, and therefore FREE. I have not seen it at night, but many of the monuments are lit up at night.
National Gallery of Art
- Woman Holding a Balance
- The Coiffure
I saw Woman Holding a Balance as part of the show Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting: Inspiration and Rivalry. The whole show was fantastic (Vermeer is my favorite artist) but sad at the same time because my favorite Vermeer, The Milkmaid, was part of the show but the ONLY piece not to cross the Atlantic (I did not know that before traveling to DC to see it). The museum is FREE and open daily from 10:00am – 5:00pm.
Read more: Weekend in D.C.: Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting
The Phillips Collection
Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series is split between two museums: the odd numbers are here and & The Museum of Modern Art has the even numbers. Panel no. 49 was not on display the day we went but they seem to rotate parts of the series they own. It was very powerful to see other artworks from the Migration Series in person especially in a room full of other African-American art, like Kara Walker. The juxtaposition created a nice dialogue of African-American struggles throughout the past century. It cost me $20 and it is open Tuesday – Sunday 10:00am – 5:00pm; closed Monday.
George Washington…sort of
The original from the 250 is actually in the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond (which I accidentally missed while on a family trip); however I stumbled upon a bronze copy of the exact statue while roaming around Embassy Row near Dupont Circle. It took my travel partner and I a couple of seconds going “No, that can’t be it?” “Wait, that’s it.” “Let’s cross the street to get a better look.” And then ending in giddy laughter. And even more serendipitous, the statue was outside the Society of the Cincinnati, which was founded in 1783 by 6,000 officers of the Continental Army and their French counterparts. I learned all about this society from a random man on the sidewalk that was a hereditary member and attending a party that evening inside!
National Museum of Asian Art
- Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings
- Jade cong
Like all Smithsonian’s this museum is FREE; opened daily from 10:00am-5:30pm. While you can argue I didn’t see “the official” jade cong from the 250 but I am less picky when it comes to prehistoric art. However the specific Bitchr folio was not on display when I went (a common occurrence with paper artworks). There were other Mughal folios on display that day when still show the gorgeous and intricate manuscript painting on the piece from the 250.
Dumbarton Oaks
This tiny Byzantine/Pre-Columbian-focused art museum (odd combination, I know!) in Georgetown was known to me first via Instagram. A historian I follow used to work there and post the most gorgeous pictures of the gardens. And then this place shot up to my list for my latest DC trip when I found out the All-T’oqapu Tunic was located here. Unfortunately textiles are sensitive to light and moisture, like manuscripts, and not often on display – I missed it. The museum is FREE to enter; the gardens cost $17 from March-December, but well worth it! The museum is open year round Tuesday-Sunday (except federal holidays) 11:30am – 5:30pm, but the garden is only open from 2:00pm – 6:00pm.
Tip: you cannot buy garden tickets on site, they must be purchased in advanced and they have two entry times: 2pm or 4pm.
National Museum of Women in the Arts
This museum should be on everyone’s list! It is the perfectly sized museum, a lovely 2 hours (with my dad + 4 year old) without rushing. Easily worth the $16 (FREE the first Sunday and second Wednesday of each month). Black-on-Black is the only 250-exact pieces but I saw many adjacent like Magdalena Abakanowicz androgynes, Rachel Ruysch still-life, Frida self-portrait, and a fiery Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith oil and collage. And as a bonus, the third floor had a Guerrilla Girls exhibit. I have my fingers crossed we’ll see a piece from them whenever (if ever) they revamp the 250. The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday 10:00am – 5:00pm.
National Museum of African Art
This museum may be confused by some people with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, but one is on AFRICAN AMERICAN culture & history in AMERICA while the other is AFRICAN art in AFRICA. You can find the Female (Pwo) Mask in the National Museum of African Art and a 250-adjacent veranda post by Olowe of Ise in the other one. Both totally worth it, but the African art one is much smaller, less well known and not crowded (fun fact, it has a underground tunnel connecting it to the National Museum of Asian Art – BONUS. The National Museum of African American History and Culture requires timed entry, still FREE though, but insanely popular. Both open 10:00am – 5:30pm (but the African American History and Culture museum does not open until noon on Mondays).
American Art Museum
Don’t confuse this with the National Museum of American History with this museum, as I did. This one is off the National Mall, still FREE, open daily from 11:30am – 7:00pm. Electronic Superhighway is overwhelming in person, both visually and auditory. Silly me I never though about the chaotic sound one would experience in front it it. The piece also includes Alaska and Hawaii off to the side (sadly those pieces are not included in image in the 250).
JMF
