National Gallery of Art

The greatest part about the National Gallery of Art is not the Henri Matisse cutouts, the famous Alexander Calder mobile, the Sculpture Garden or the Self-Portait of Vincent Van Gogh. The greatest part about this museum is that you can see all of this for free.

Thanks to its association as a Smithsonian museum, the National Gallery of Art is housed within two wings and the sculpture garden, and can be explored as much or as little at a time. Famous works are continually donated to the museum, and many exhibitions make tours through the gallery.

Created in 1937 by US Congress and a gift by Andrew W. Mellon, the gallery opened in 1941 with the West Building. The East building was designed by I.M. Pei and completed in 1978. It houses new collections, collection of prints and drawings, exhibition schedules, a research center, library and administrative offices. The Sculpture Garden was completed in 1999 and displays modern works of sculpture for people to wander through.

Permament collections include the Dutch Cabinet galleries, Italian Cabinet galleries (the cabinet galleries are designed to resemble small Renaissance chambers), small French paintings, the Armand Hammer collection, Leo Villareal's computer-programmed digital light project Multiverse which spans through the corridor connecting the two buildings, and Sol LeWitt's Wall Drawing.

Various music recitals occur often and year-round, from lunchtime concerts and lectures to Jazz in the Sculpture Garden evenings in summertime. There are also Sunday evening concerts during non-summer months. All are free to the public. Past artists have included renowned flutist Harold Jones, pianist Peter Vinograde and the Ritz Chamber Players.  In winter, there's an outdoor ice-skating rink that's incredibly popular and often sells out.

Between the two buildings is an underground walkway, where the cafeteria is located. It serves gourmet dishes and desserts, and is probably one of the best places to eat on the National Mall (next to the American Indian museum cafeteria and the U.S. Capitol visitors' cafe).

HelloWashingtonDC Tip: Even after you've gone home, you can continue browsing the museum through its detailed Web site. Information about individual pieces in its collections, videos, podcasts and Web exhibitions enhance your visit and whet your appetite before you go back again.

- by Rin-rin Yu, Washington Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Rin-rin Yu

Rin-rin is an award-winning writer and journalist based in the Baltimore-Washington area. Her work has appeared in China Daily, DAYSPA magazine, Luxury Home Design, Aquatics International, Not For Tourists and other publications. Rin-rin has also worked for ABC News, WHDH-TV (NBC) in Boston and Hanley Wood Business Media. She has a master's degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She is an avid world traveler and maintains a travel blog, www.mytravelhats.com.