DC Trip - Part 1

Yesterday my friends, Aileen, Stacie, JJ, and I took a little trip from our middle-of-nowhere college to DC. Instead of taking the metro we drove through DC without getting too lost. In fact, we happened to snag marvelous parking spots the entire night. Our first stop of the night was a Smithsonian: The National Gallery of Art.

I've been to The National Gallery of Art a few times before. The last time I went was my senior year of high school and I was set loose with my camera.

Why are we all smiling around this?

This time, there was an intriguing exhibition, From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection. It was just room upon room of Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Cézanne, Renoir and Degas. Basically, Chester Dale was a guy that made a lot of money on Wall Street and channeled his wealth into collecting rare pieces of art for years. Then, upon his death, he bequeathed his entire collection to the National Gallery of Art. I'm glad he did.

Four Dancers Degas

I now love Degas. All his paintings look so delicate and full of emotion.

Girl with a Watering Can Renoir

I just love the faces!

Girl with a Hoop Renoir

She looks like Mary from The Secret Garden.

Monet

The brush strokes close up are beautiful.

This painting is further proof that Keanu Reeves is immortal.

Picasso

This painting of a family of traveling performers is wonderfully bizarre. What really got me was the description of how Chester Dale got this painting. He apparently saw a photo from the dealer and made an incredible gamble with the Swiss in order to get it.

Stacie and JJ

I love stained glass. I happen to really enjoy old cathedrals. 

Throughout our entire time at the museum, security guards tracked us down. Namely because:

1. I tried to take a picture of a marmot.
2. Stacie was leaning on a table.
3. Aileen, Stacie, and I got up on our toes and tried to peer inside a chalice. Apparently we were too close to the glass.

Aside from our encounter with the security guards, we all had a great time at the Art Gallery. I would just never classify myself as an art connoisseur.