After years of renovation, The National Portrait Gallery opened in Washington, DC. Located in the Old U.S. Patent Office Building in mainstream-commercially-trendy Chinatown, the Gallery shares the building with the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

I was a bit bias coming into this tour — after all the Smithsonian museums are simply not as good as the non-Smithsonian museums in town, particularly the art museums (National Gallery of Art, Corcoran, and Phillips Collection are all better experiences than the Smithsonian museums). Also, I feared I would try to compare this museum to one of my favorite museum experiences which is the National Portrait Gallery in London.

The Museum occupies 3 floors in the square building with a cutout courtyard which will be covered by a glass roof similar to the one found in the British Museum. While the exhibitions are clearly split between the American Art Museum and the National Portrait gallery, the planners intentionally split the museums so while one occupies the east side on one floor, it will occupy the west side on the other. Therefore, as a visitor you need to take a second and remind yourself which museum you are actually visiting.

I entered the Gallery from the South (F Street, NW) and walked through the “Americans Now” and “Portraiture Now” exhibits. These are the modern portraits. You will find Shaq, Mia Hamm, Brett Favre and Hillary Clinton along side John Waters and Calvin Klein. Other interesting works of art in this section include William Beckman’s take on American Gothic (“American Modern”) and Jason Salavon’s “Late Night Triad” which involves large TV screens broadbcasting blurry segments of Leno, Letterman, and Conan doing their monologue (I find this display to be similar to the sleeping Beckham display in London’s NPG). My understanding is that these exhibits are temporary — too bad because the colorful rooms and portraits are worth the trip.

Next, I headed over the west side to the American Art Museum where I particularly enjoyed “The Art of William Christenberry”, an interesting exhibit which combined photography, painting, and sculpting. There is a series of photos where the artist captured a photo of certain buildings over an extended period of time creating and effective display of the impact of time, decay, and abandonment.

Upstairs, back at the National Portrait Gallery, one of the most logical of exhibits is America’s Presidents. Here, between Egyptian columns, you will find Gilbert Stuart’s unfinished templates of George and Martha Washington. An interesting study of Franklin Roosevelt’s hand poses in Yalta leads off the modern presidents area where one will find a colorful taken on John F. Kennedy directly across from a happy, cheery, smiling Richard Nixon (yes, I said Nixon) painted by Norman Rockwell. Rounding the corner is probably the worst portrait every made of Bill Clinton.

The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition takes up a large gallery in the northwest corner of the building. The works of the 51 artists selected as finalists includes some of the more interesting portraits in the museum. From photo-quality oils to nudity made from Lite Brite it is a fascinating look at modern portraiture. Interestingly, London’s NPG also has a similar competition exhibit.

Climbing up an ornate stairwell, I reach the third floor. This is where the much-talked-about Great Hall and Model Hall really change the look and feel of the building. While the first two floors are federal style long hallways with modern colors varying from room to room, the 3rd floor halls, look like a cross between the interior of the U.S. Capitol and the Smithsonian Arts & Industries building – brown and green tile floors, bronze railings, and stained glass. Along the Model Hall, portraits of civil rights leaders, legal scholars, and military generals occupy the various small rooms. In the balconies above the Model Hall hang modern sports and entertainment portraits including a block of wood shaped and painted like Bob Hope and an over the top cheesy Elvis right next to a cool Thelonius Monk.

The large Contemporary Art exhibit occupies the entire east wing of the third floor. Several works of art standout but I’m sure most will talk about Nam June Paik’s “Electronic Superhighway” which is room size neon-light map of the us with televisions behind each state. DC is represented by a small handheld TV which, using the camera nearby, broadcast video of you, the person standing right there looking at it. Around the corner Pak has an even larger exhibit called the “Megatron Matrix” which also uses hundreds of TVs to create moving and dancing 1970s and 80s style art.

The final exhibit in my review today is will be the William Wegman special exhibit. I knew it would be interesting when upon entering a sign notified me that I can call a phone number on my mobile phone and get a guided tour of the exhibit. I’ve never seen that before. Wegman uses his photography to create some interesting mind stretching views. His many photos of dogs in human-like poses will cause a double-take. I was most fascinated by several paintings where he took photos (such as one of Wall Street and of the Western Wall) and then painted them together creating a continuous scene. You need a minute to look closely and realize how he blended to completely unrelated photos to create on painting.

Finally, I walked through the Luce Foundation Center which had stacks upon stacks of art in library like casings. Behind the Center’s open atrium is the Lunder Conservation Center where one can watch as art is being restored and preserved. Overall, the museum is comfortable to move around with good signage and various modern couches and benches spread throughout. The cafes are acceptable although museum priced ($7.50 for a sandwich). With the smell of fresh paint still in the air, I found this visit quite enjoyable and I am looking forward to taking others and to see it all again.

Link: The National Portrait Gallery

Link: Smithsonian American Art Museum