D.C.

Stories from the Road

October 30, 2014

Washington, D.C.

Fall moved quickly into Washington, D.C. today. The air was cool, but the sun shone brightly over the capital city. After breakfast at a local café, which reminded me of my post golf hang out, the Incredible Café in Rancho Bernado, we jumped on the metro and headed into the city, some three miles away.

The first stop was at the National Art Gallery, which was featuring a three hundred painting exhibit by Andrew Wyeth. Vicki and I were excited to see this exhibit, as Andrew Wyeth has long been one of our favorite artists. We went to a large exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts of his work in 1970. However, the lines were long, and it wasn’t an ideal setting to view the paintings. Here there were no lines, and the galleries were nearly empty.

Andrew Wyeth’s father, N.C. Wyeth, was a famous illustrator, and Andrew’s son Jaime is a well-regarded artist in his own right. Andrew’s paintings are about life in Chadd’s Ford Pennsylvania and Cushing, Maine, the two places he lived. He liked to paint the same objects like windows and houses over and over because as the light and the seasons changed, the objects in his eye became radically different. Typically he would be inspired by the way he saw something. He would sketch feverishly, so he would remember the moment. Then he would spend months alone making the painting. He said he was only happy, when he was painting in solitude.

Next we set out to walk to a photography museum that Google Maps indicated was a few miles up Constitution Avenue. We probably walked more than that, but found no museum, though we did stumble upon George Washington University, which seemed to be an interesting place. On the way back we passed the White House with a few demonstrators in front. Some seemed to be mentally ill. Security was tight, and a cute bomb-sniffing dog was checking out White House visitors.

Tonight we will have dinner with Vicki’s brother, who lives in the area. Have a good evening.