Monday, January 21, 2008

SAAM


SAAM
Originally uploaded by Randuwa
Whenever an art museum is renovated there is reason for celebration. And nowhere is this truer than at the Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery. Prior to its multi-year face-lift, SAAM/NPG was definitely a backwater of DC museums.

Since the renovation, it's a freaking hive of activity and visitors. Before, when I went there, it was like going to the library, now it's like going to a shopping mall! How wonderful is that?

The final stage is complete. Like so many of the block-sized structures in DC, the actual building wraps itself around an inner courtyard. With the renovation, that courtyard is covered in a geodesic canopy reminiscent of those at the British Museum and The Walters Collection, both in London. It's a weatherproof enclave with planters containing full grown trees and ferns, a cafe, and two extremely shallow reflecting pools that you can as easy walk across as discover your image in.

Visiting DC? Go to SAAM/NPG and experience it for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.

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