Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
I strongly prefer sculptures over paintings. However, while visiting Washington, DC back in 2010 I took a chance and added the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery to my list of places to visit. I have an interest in history and reasoned that in spite of the museum housing mostly paintings, the historical content would be worth the visit. My mom and I arrived with moderate expectations about an hour before closing figuring that we’d move quickly through the museum and it wouldn’t be a big deal if we didn’t get to see everything. We ended up leaving the museum disappointed.
What was originally planned as a leisurely stop after lunch ended being a mad dash through the museum to see as much as possible before the guards kicked us out. We began on the ground floor and worked our way through “American Origins”, a part of “The Struggle for Justice”, and ended with what was probably a ten minute rush through “America’s Presidents”.
I didn’t get to see everything but I saw enough to want to visit again and open myself up to rethinking my art preferences. Well played Smithsonian. Well played.
