DC -- GWU -- Museum and Textile Museum -- Exhibit: An Artist's Washington:
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Description of Pictures: An Artist's Washington
Through March 25, 2023
Landscapes from the Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection show how artists past and present look beyond iconic landmarks to depict neighborhood streetscapes and natural features of the capital city.
About the Exhibition
Washington, D.C. is most widely known as a federal city filled with massive statuary and architecture. With trained eyes artists look beyond the city’s monumental core to depict the everyday scenes familiar to local Washingtonians.
This exhibition explores depictions of D.C. across time and media – from Civil War art correspondents to contemporary illustrators, and from oil painting to etching. Fourteen artists take you through nearly 200 years of landscapes, streetscapes and destinations authentic to D.C.
Examples include a pastoral scene of late 19th-century Anacostia painted by William MacLeod; artist Gene Boemer’s study of fountains across city, from corner parks to the courtyards of federal buildings; and a series of postcards illustrated by Carlos Carmonamedina, featuring such classic neighborhood scenes as the drum circle in Meridian Hill Park and brunch at Le Diplomate.
This exhibition is organized by the Albert H. Small Center for National Capital Area Studies with support from the Albert and Shirley Small Family Foundation.
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
GWMADC_221020_001.JPG: An Artist's Washington
GWMADC_221020_007.JPG: View of the Mall from the Castle
Commissioned in 1983 by the Smithsonian Institute this print depicts the magnificent sweep of the National Mall and includes all the Smithsonian museums. Seen during a thunderstorm, a familiar sight during D.C. summers, James Renwick, Jr.'s 1855 castle takes on a life of its own. Though produced as a lithograph, the artist inserts himself in the image by placing a canvas and paint box on the roof in the foreground.
Robert Haas, 1983
GWMADC_221020_016.JPG: Mill's Colossal Equestrian Statue of General Andrew Jackson
The triumphant equestrian statue of President Andrew Jackson was commissioned in 1847 and completed in 1852, just one year before this print. Prints like this were commonplace in the nineteenth century. They were used to inform and educate viewers as well as offer accessible decor to Americans. Thomas Sinclair was one of the leading printmakers at the time. Operating out of Philadelphia he led the field of chromolithography, or printing in color.
Thomas S. Sinclair, printer, 1853
GWMADC_221020_022.JPG: View from North End of 16th Street, Washington, DC, 1889
William O. Dougal, watercolor, 1889
GWMADC_221020_026.JPG: Washington, DC, from Soldier's Home, 1889
William O. Dougal painted several views of the skyline of DC from different angles and in different lights. The cool morning light of this painting sharply contrasts with the warm evening light of the painting above. Another distinct difference is the pastoral and rural setting of the soldier's home versus the strictly urban skyline of the view from 16th Street. Despite these differences, Douglas retains his play with scale relative to reality to enhance the view and make a more impactful image.
William O. Dougal, watercolor, 1889
GWMADC_221020_038.JPG: Little Tavern, Georgetown
This once-familiar Little Tavern hamburger cottage formerly stood at the Northeast corner of Wisconsin Avenue and N Street NW. The franchise opened its first DC spot in 1928 and quickly became a regional favorite for slider burgers; at one point there were nearly 50 locations. Little Taverns eventually lost the competition for most popular fast-food hamburger chain, and the last outlet closed in 2008.
Paul McGehee, color lithograph, 2015
GWMADC_221020_044.JPG: From the Capitol from Mr. Eliot's Garden, 1839
Russel Smith, painting, 1839
GWMADC_221020_050.JPG: Sixteenth Street Churches
The spires of National Baptist Memorial Church, left, and All Souls Unitarian Church dominate the skyline on 16th Street NW between Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights. Working with pen, ink, watercolor, and gouache, Spandorf became known for the news illustrations she created for the Washington Star, Washington Post, and many other periodicals. Later in her career, she became celebrated for recording DC's urban landscape with quick, on-the-spot paintings of streetscapes that reminded her of her native Europe.
Lily Spandorf, ca 1970
GWMADC_221020_056.JPG: Untitled (Capitol from the Anacostia River)
Unlike the river we know now, in the 1880s the Anacostia was a picturesque wetland. Here William MacLeod paints as pastoral scene of a farm with cows and people working on the river. MacLeod was long active in the DC art scene. In 1854, he opened an art school that operated teaching painting and draftsmanship until the outbreak of the Civil War. And in 1873, he became the first curator of collections at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
William D. MacLeod, c 1880
GWMADC_221020_061.JPG: The Nave, Washington Cathedral
Washington's longest-running construction project began in 1907, when Theodore Roosevelt laid the first stone for the Washington National Cathedral. The project was not completed until 1990. In 1923, Joseph Pennel etches this image of the nave, or the central hall, under construction and filled with cranes. Pennel was one of America's most distinguished etchers and helped to spur the revival of print culture during the turn of the 20th century.
Joseph Pennel, 1923
GWMADC_221020_068.JPG: Washington, DC Navy Yard, April 1861
This painting was likely made while Waud was in DC to report to General Winfield Scott. It is rare that it survived because as an artist for the New York Illustrated News, his original works were the means to an end. Detailed field sketches were rushed back to the newspaper headquarters and turned into prints. Few originals survived this process. Waud had originally trained as a marine painter, perhaps influencing him to paint the Navy Yard while in DC.
Alfred Rudolph Waud, 1861
GWMADC_221020_073.JPG: Old Houses Georgetown Canal
Hirst Milhollen, 1941
GWMADC_221020_080.JPG: From Pierce's Heights
Looking out over the hills of DC to the Potomac, this view of DC from upper northwest depicts the natural beauty of the landscape. The neo-classical buildings in the distance are likely homes of elite Washingtonians who built houses outside the bustling city to escape to during the summer.
Alexander H. Clements, 1848
GWMADC_221020_089.JPG: (Top Row)
Our Washington as the Artist Sees It
Sold as an unbound set of 20 printed sketches of Washington, DC, this souvenir combines images of the monumental core of DC as well as streetscapes of the rest of the city. Tourists could purchase this set to take home and remember their trip to the national capital. To help with recollection, each image is accompanied on the reverse with a caption identifying and describing the image.
Joseph Bernard Himmelherber, 1931
(Remaining Rows)
100 Postcards of Washington, DC
This is just a small selection of postcards illustrated by Carlos Carmonamedina. The artist describes this project as a "personal challenge... to discover the city beyond the standard tourist monument." The results of this challenge allow the viewer to collect images of their local neighborhood, explore parts of the city they have yet to visit, and relive temporary events like the annual Funk Parade. To date, Carmonamedina has completed nearly 200 illustrations.
Carlos Carmonamedina, 2018
GWMADC_221020_113.JPG: The Fountains of Washington by Gene Boemer
GWMADC_221020_116.JPG: The Pan American Building (Courtyard)
Gene Boemer, 1971
GWMADC_221020_122.JPG: National Broadcasters Association
Gene Boemer, 1971
GWMADC_221020_127.JPG: The Botanical Garden
Gene Boemer, 1971
GWMADC_221020_132.JPG: "Oscar Strauss" Memorial
Gene Boemer, 1967
GWMADC_221020_138.JPG: Pennsylvania Avenue at 20th Street NW
A simple fountain looks like a peaceful place for respite and contemplation just one block from the GW campus. Located in James Monroe Park, the lily pads, cattails, and birds offer a glimpse of the natural world in the heard of Washington DC. Boemer's skillful use of fine line enhances the natural elements and adds an ephemeral quality. Unfortunately, this fountain no longer exists. In 2015, the water feature was replaced with a light sculpture by Duilio Passariello.
Gene Boemer, 1967
GWMADC_221020_145.JPG: Courtyard of Labor Building
Gene Boemer, 1967
GWMADC_221020_150.JPG: "Taras Shevchenko" Memorial
Gene Boemer, 1971
GWMADC_221020_154.JPG: James Forrestal Building
Gene Boemer, 1971
GWMADC_221020_160.JPG: Meridian Hill Park
Meridian Hill Park, also known as Malcolm X Park, is a formal Italian-style park at the intersection of 16th and W Streets NW. Designed by George Burnap of Washington, these three fountains set into arches are the source of the large cascade that dominates the park> Boemer did execute another drawing of the larger cascade, but this drawing focuses on the movement of the water over the architectural details.
Gene Boemer, c 1970
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2022 photos: This year included major setbacks -- including Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the Supreme Court imposing the evangelical version of sharia law -- but also some steps forward like the results of the midterms.
This website had its 20th anniversary in August, 2022.
Equipment this year: I continued to use my Fuji XS-1 cameras but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000.
Trips this year:
(February) a visit to see Dad and Dixie in Asheville, NC with some other members of my family,
(July) a trip out west for the return of San Diego Comic-Con, and
(October) a long weekend in New York to cover New York Comic-Con.
Number of photos taken this year: about 386,000, up 2020 and 2021 levels but still way below pre-pandemic levels.
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