On my way back from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, I stopped by the National Portrait Gallery. After nearly 7 years in the district and I never went to any of the art galleries or museums. Until now.
You can't take photos of most of the exhibits unless they are part of the permanent collection. Pictured above are William Henry Harrison, Theodore Roosevelt, and Richard Nixon (as painted yearbook-style by Norman Rockwell).
Some parts of the gallery can get a little repetitive like the "America 1600-1900" or as it should be known "Old dead white guys". You find some really interesting portraits. For me, it was John Brown (that guy who raided Harper's Ferry) and his crazy eyes/beard.
The Smithsonian American Art Museum shares the same building with the National Portrait Gallery. But I did have the time/foot strength to walk through those exhibits so I will have to return some day. Interesting fact: the building used to be the U.S. Patent Office. They've created an enclosed atrium with this wavy top (seen below). I plan on going back one day during a storm just so I can stare up at the rain falling down.
In case you can't visit the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum, there's a (Google) map for that. They've gone through with street view so you can have a cultured life from you computer. http://maps.google.com/intl/en/help/maps/streetview/gallery/art-project/national-portrait-gallery-smithsonian.html
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