The Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. continues until April 14th. After this last snow the weather will be warmer and the town covered in pink.
The cherry trees donated by Japan over 100 years ago are predicted to have a Peak Blooming Date of April 5 – April 7. Take a free self-guided tour of flowering cherries in the National Arboretum (www.usna.usda.gov). Over 30 stops marked by roadside signs and corresponding numbers on a brochure map identify different species and cultivars of flowering cherries. Open from 8 AM – 5 PM daily and located at U.S. National Arboretum, 24th and R Streets, NE.
Join a professional photographer for a photo workshop covering the early morning sun on the cherry blossoms with the Tidal Basin’s monuments as the backdrop. For more info and cost click on www.WashingtonPhotoSafari.com.
Most art galleries have free admittance. The National Gallery of Art (www.nga.gov) has two exhibitions which will be ending in May. The fascinating photography exhibit “Faking It: Manipulated Photography before Photoshop” ends May 5th. The lovely “Pre-Raphaelites Victorian Art and Design, 1848 – 1900” ends May 10th. George & Linda Kaufman of Norfolk, VA recently gifted their collection “Masterpieces of American Furniture from the Kaufman Collection, 1700 -1830”, which is on display indefinitely.
You may feel that a photograph shows the truth. However, the photograph presents the photographer’s point of view. Also, digital photography with the help of Photoshop and other software can change an original photo. Objects and people can be added or subtracted from the original image. Colors can be changed. What you may not realize is that these changes to photographs have been possible since the invention of photography in 1839. The “Faking It ...” exhibit displays images that have been altered to create illusions, to persuade, to sell and to lie.
Pre-Raphaelitism was Britain’s first avant-garde art movement. In 1848 young artists rejected traditional approaches to painting, sculptures, and decorative art objects.
“Masterpieces of American Furniture…” Also includes displays of porcelains, floral watercolors, and portraits of the time.
After visiting the exhibits enjoy lunch at the Garden Café Americana on the ground floor. Also visit the Gallery Shop, the Bookstore and the Children’s Shop. The National Gallery’s Pavilion Café offers a panoramic view of the outside Sculpture Garden.
These three exhibits are in the Gallery’s neoclassical West Building, which is located on the National Mall between Third and Ninth Streets and along Constitution Avenue. Public transportation access is available from Metrorail and Metrobus. The gallery is open Monday – Saturday: 10am to 5 pm and Sunday from 11am to 6pm. For info on National Gallery of Art call (202)737-4215 or check online at www.nga.gov.
For additional info:
http://www.examiner.com/article/a-day-trip-from-richmond-va-to-visit-the-newseum-washington-d-c
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