Bike the sites on the Mall

Detail from the Vietnam Women's Memorial on the National Mall, dedicated on Armistice Day, 1993 and designed by Glenna Goodacre (1939-2020)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

I am a lucky gal! Not too far from the National Mall where I can hop on a bike and go riding the sites to see beautiful statues, art and scenery.  The Mall is so big, there's plenty to see.  Come on aboard, mates, for a wonderful time, corona-free, on a Sunday afternoon. Or, anytime.

Happy Memorial Day to veterans everywhere!  We thank you.

Photo by Patricia Leslie    

Our first stop was in Bolivar Gardens a block north of the National Mall where Virginia, C and 18th streets meet in Washington, D.C. This park was named after "the Liberator" Simon Bolivar (1783-1830).

The Republic of Venezuela gave the statue to the U.S. in 1958 which is across the street from the Pan American Union Building of the Organization of American States. Felix de Weldon designed it and the Iwo Jima Memorial.

Here, General Bolivar, proud centerpiece of the park, leads troops to freedom from Spain which formerly occupied what is now Venezuela, Bolivia, Columbia, Equator, Peru, and Panama. 
Near General Bolivar and the Lincoln Memorial is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with the names of 58,318 veterans who died as a result of the war. Some 3,000,000 persons visit the memorial every year, designed in blind competition by Yale University student, Maya Lin (b. 1959)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Across the grass from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the Vietnam Women's Memorial dedicated on Armistice Day, 1993, designed by Glenna Goodacre (1939-2020)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 The Vietnam Women's Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Detail from the Vietnam Women's Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The sculptor's signature stone at the Vietnam Women's Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Photo by Patricia Leslie 

Between the WWII and the Lincoln memorials and not far from the Korean War Veterans Memorial, is the District of Columbia War Memorial which lists in alphabetical order the names of all 499 District men and women who died in World War I service. Not rank, not race, nor gender is important at this memorial.

The website at the National Park Service says the structure is big enough to accommodate the U.S. Marine Corps band and was built as a bandstand for concerts to honor the war dead. 

General John J. Pershing and John Philip Sousa, the former conductor of the Marine Corps Band, were among the thousands who attended or listened to live radio coverage of the ceremony when President Herbert Hoover dedicated the War Memorial on Armistice Day, November 11,1931.

For years the memorial stood unattended, in poor condition, hidden in trees, unseen by many, neglected and languishing until 2010 when a $3.6 million grant paid for its restoration. Since then, the roof (below) has deteriorated and needs work.

The D.C. War Memorial on the National Mall with a rusty canopy, in need of refurbishment/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From a cluster of cherry blossom trees, the Washington Monument rises/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The centerfold of the World War II Memorial is the Lincoln Memorial, seen in the distance. The DC Memorial stands in the trees on the left, and the Vietnam memorials, in the trees on the right/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A host of golden daffodils border the entrance to the 9th Street Expressway adjacent to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Beautiful, fragrant hyacinths dot the landscape somewhere on the Mall/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Snow in springtime? It happens, but these pretties were also along the walkway beside the Natural History museum/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Photo by Patricia Leslie 

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt summoned his friend, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, and told him that if a memorial were erected to the president, FDR would like it to be about the size of his desk, please, nothing fancy, but a location at the corner of the U.S. National Archives would be nice.  And so it was, dedicated on the 20th anniversary of President Roosevelt's death, April 12, 1965 on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The FDR Memorial at National Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Vietnam Women's Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The museums are still closed but that doesn't keep hundreds from enjoying the statuary and beautiful scenery at the Mall where spaciousness permits easy social distancing. Mask wearers vary from about a third a few weeks ago to more than half now.

Yes! Get on that bike and ride, have fun, and learn a thing or two. (Read other recent posts "on the Mall": the delay of the dedication of the Eisenhower Memorial and a sad Earth Day Park.)

patricialesli@gmail.com

Sunday is Verrocchio's last day in Washington

The star attraction at the Andrea del Verrocchio exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington produces wonder and admiration.  He is David with the Head of Goliath, c. 1465, bronze with partial gilding, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence/Photo by Patricia Leslie

He slew the enemy. A front view of Andrea del Verrocchio's David with the Head of Goliath, c. 1465, bronze with partial gilding, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence. Missing is the stone which David used to kill Goliath. It was made separately and was attached to the giant’s head. One of Verrocchio's pupils, Leonardo da Vinci, may have been the model for David/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Andrea del Verrocchio, Head of a Gorgon, c. 1480, terracotta, private collection. This scary fellow was used to ward off evil, part of a frieze in a Roman courtyard of a palace which was destroyed in 1936, according to the label copy. (I guess his power didn't work in 1936.) Gorgons appear on body armor of the young warrior and Alexander the Great below.  Note the similarity between the words "gorgon" and "gargoyle," the latter which is found on cathedrals around the world, including Washington's National Cathedral, both forms designed to repel evil (in the Cathedral's case, water).    

"What sayeth you, sinner? Your secrets are no more!" this gorgon seems to say to me. Not such a bad thing! I need one of these to wear around my neck.  What say you a merchandiser has them ready for me? Methinks I am carried away by this gorgon!  You see what art can do!  I wonder if his locks give him extra power? Get thee away, Delilah!  This is my gorgon, not yours! This gorgon has sent my mind a'flyin'.  Time to buzz off, but the young maiden below, despite her loveliness, does not so inspire me/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Andrea del Verrocchio, Bust of a Young Woman, c. 1470, marble, The Frick Collection.  White lines in the background are reflections in the protective glass/Photo by Patricia Leslie


"After Andrea del Verrocchio," The Entombment of Christ, pre-1945 plaster cast after the original terra cotta of c. 1475/1480, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst and damaged in World War II/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Andrea del Verrocchio, Sketch Model for the Monument of Cardinal Niccolò Forteguerri, 1476, terracotta, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.  According to the label copy:
"This small clay sculpture is one of the few sketch models to survive from the early Renaissance. Verrocchio in 1476 won the commission for a multifigure marble project for the Cathedral of Pistoia (near Florence) by submitting a design, possibly this relief. It shows Christ enthroned amid angels, blessing the Cardinal who kneels among the virtues Faith, Hope, and Charity."/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Andrea del Verrocchio, Madonna and Child, c. 1465/1470, plaster with traces of polychromy, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, R.T. Miller Jr. Fund. Called one of Verrocchio's "most influential designs," the mother and child stand at a window or balcony. The label draws attention to Mary's left hand, an "elegant gesture" found in several works by Verrocchio and his followers/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The woman examines the drawing, Project for a Funerary Monument (Tartagni Tomb) c. 1477/1480, attributed to Verrocchio and an assistant. Its partner in this gallery is a bronze candlestick (1.57 metres high) which Verrocchio made in 1468 for the palace of the Florentine city government and the commemoration of a 1468 peace treaty which ended war between Florence and Venice.  On loan from the Rijksmuseum/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Andrea del Verrocchio, Head of a Woman with Braided Hair, 1475/1478, black chalk on charcoal and more, on loan from the Trustees of the British Museum, London. Verrocchio was one of the first to use black chalk. He made shadows by smudging with his finger or a piece of leather.  

Oh, to ever be this peaceful! But, on closer examination, the pretty lass does not appear to be peaceful, for her downcast eyes show sadness, and her hair braids suggest a head full of snakes, like mythological gorgons (see above) from Greek literature and the three sisters whose hair was the home of living, poisonous snakes. Perhaps she is Eve, downfallen over the future, or Mary, the mother of Jesus, also saddened by what lies ahead/

Photo by Patricia Leslie

Andrea del Verrocchio, Giuliano de' Medici, c. 1475/1478, terracotta, Andrew W. Mellon Collection.  I love this man, this bust.  He is supremely confident, an enormous allure. And look at the protective gorgon (please see above) on his breastplate contrasting here and below (Alexander the Great) with the subjects' "calm demeanor."

 

Andrea del Verrocchio and assistant, Alexander the Great, c. 1480/1485, marble, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Therese K. Straus. Another of my favorites. He exudes confidence, fortified by a gorgon.  But after all, he is Alexander the Great (looking to be about 14 years old in this likeness), and perhaps a gift from the Medicis to the King of Hungary.

Kaywin Feldman, the director of the National Gallery of Art, welcomes visitors and dignitaries to the Verrocchio exhibition. David with the Head of Goliath watches proceedings from his center perch behind, from left, Larry Di Rica, Bank of America; Ms. Feldman, His Excellency Armando Varricchio, ambassador of Italy; and Andrew Butterfield, guest curator/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Leonardo da Vinci, Lorenzo di Credi, and Pietro Perugino were his pupils.

Sandro Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandaio were collaborators.

He was the teacher of teachers of Raphael and Michelangelo. 

He was Renaissance master, Andrea del Verrocchio, (c. 1435-1488) whose works are set to leave the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Sunday after a four-month stay. 

Washington has been the site of the first U.S. comprehensive 
Verrocchio exhibition represented by 50 of his wide-ranging works which include altars, sculpture, portraiture, sketches, and more in a presentation subtitled: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence.


Verrocchio was supported by commissions by the powerful and wealthy Medici family of three generations (1389-1492) which ruled Florence and commissioned many of his works, possibly, David.  He sculpted tomb monuments for their church in San Lorenzo, including the heralded brothers' double tomb in 1473, called "a wonder of the world."

The problem of correctly separating Verrocchio's works from that of his workshop assistants is constantly referenced, whenever any kind of study about him is performed.  In the show here, the National Gallery has exercised extreme care to correctly identify the artist and where there is doubt, to show by the words  "and assistant" or "assistants." 

If you can't get to all the venues around the globe which have loaned the pieces, seize what is likely this last opportunity to see them together. 

A hardbound catalogue with 279 color illustrations and almost 400 pages is available in the shops ($60). Links to two films (one, three minutes, and another, 19 minutes) may be found at the website.

Bank of America is the lead sponsor of the exhibition with support from the Buffy and William Cafritz Family Fund.
  
What: Verrocchio:  Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence

When: Now through January 12, 2020. The National Gallery is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and on Sunday, 11 a.m.- 6 p.m.

Where: The West Building at the National Gallery of Art, between Third and Ninth streets at Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. On the Mall.

How much: Admission to the National Gallery of Art is always free.

Metro stations for the National Gallery of Art:
Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Navy Memorial-Archives, or L'Enfant Plaza

For more information: 202-737-4215


patricialesli@gmail.com

Renwick's Michael Sherrill Retrospective ends Sunday

At the entrance to the Michael Sherrill Retrospective at the Renwick Gallery/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In his North Carolina studio close to Asheville at a place called "Bat Cave" (that is the real name), naturalist/artist Michael Sherrill brings it all home, his love for the outdoors, his creativity, and his desire to make the world understand the loss of Earth's gifts and those we take for granted.

Using glass, clay, and metal, Mr. Sherrill designs and sculpts nature's bounty and more for wall hangings and display. The Renwick Gallery has 73 of them up for this last weekend.

Michael Sherrill, Aqua Bottles, 1995/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Michael Sherrill, Queen of Hearts, c. 1990, Racine Art Museum, left, and Head and Shoulders, c. 1990, collection of the artist/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Michael Sherrill Retrospective spans his artistic evolution over more than 40 years, beginning with his teapots and ending with colorful metal animals mixed inside and around real and fictional plants.

Michael Sherrill Retrospective, Smithsonian Renwick Gallery/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Michael Sherrill, Bumbleberry, 1999, Mint Museum. The wall label says this work was inspired by the non-native kiwi plant which grew outside the artist's studio and seemed to always  grasp for light and support.  I don't know about you, but this sure suggests a snake to me.  Perhaps I mixed up the proper plant credit? Update:  I did not mix them up!/Photo by Patricia Leslie


Mr. Sherrill's beginnings were not unlike those of many artists, but few have six children as this artist does. At his Washington opening, he said: “I had to balance doing my best work and surviving economically.”

The 2008 recession took its toll on some of his potter friends who were unable to continue their art, "growing bored" with struggles. To the persistent go the laurels, and Mr. Sherrill, who started as an abstract potter, kept up his craft which became harmonious sculptures of nature.

Michael Sherrill at the opening of his retrospective at the Renwick Gallery, June 27, 2019
/Photo by Patricia Leslie


He grew up listening to the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan who, he thinks, invited listeners to join in their music, and he wants viewers to do the same with his art:  participate.

Michael Sherrill at the opening of his retrospective at the Renwick Gallery, June 27, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Michael Sherrill, How Plants Travel, 2003, collection of Marsha Madorsky.  Mr. Sherrill created this about the time his works shifted from table tops to wall hangings.  Here, the flowers gradually diminish in size as the eye moves up the curvature/Photo by Patricia Leslie

For models (including snakes which are easily found around his mountain studio; he kept one in his high school locker, he said) he uses wires and sometimes sketches designs in advance but not always. His sculptures are colored metal, many with beautiful, small flowers, their shapes and sizes reminiscent of plants and nature's limbs which float on seabeds.

Michael Sherrill, What the Eye Sees, 2003, collection of Ann and Tom Cousins. The open areas, according to the label copy, are intended to invite viewer interpretation/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Michael Sherrill, Brightly Hidden, 2010, Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA.  This was made by Mr. Sherrill when he served as an artist-in-residence at the Tacoma Museum of Glass.  It is designed to show the snake in the Garden of Eden, good v. bad, beauty v. danger/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the Michael Sherrill Retrospective, Smithsonian Renwick Gallery, June 27, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A photo of some of Michael Sherrill's "mudtools" on display and available for sale at his website/Photo by Patricia Leslie

To fashion his works, Mr. Sherrill, mostly self-taught, needs specialized tools which he makes himself and sells on his website. (They are pictured on a wall at the Renwick.)  

On a recent trip to Japan, he found reproductions of them for sale in two shops.

Organizer of the show was the Mint Museum in Charlotte, N.C., which has named Mr. Sherrill , "Artist of the Year."



What: Michael Sherrill Retrospective and see Reforestation of the Imagination by Ginny Ruffner in an adjacent gallery. 

When: Now through January 5, 2020. The Renwick is open from 10 a.m.– 5:30 p.m. every day.

Where: The Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery, 1661 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006, at the White House 17th Street block, adjacent to Blair House.

Admission: No charge

Metro stations: Farragut North or Farragut West

For more information: (202) 633-7970 (recorded) or (202) 633-2850

patricialesli@gmail.com 

David Levinthal's little toys mean a lot at the Smithsonian

David Levinthal, Untitled from the series Barbie, 1998, Smithsonian American Art Museum

David Levinthal with his Untitled from the series Barbie, 1998, Smithsonian American Art Museum/Photo by Patricia Leslie, June 6, 2019

David Levinthal, Untitled from the series Baseball, 2004, Smithsonian American Art Museum. This is Roberto Clemente, the first Latin American and Caribbean player to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  A noted philanthropist, Mr. Clemente died in a 1972 plane crash in Nicaragua while on his way to deliver aid to earthquake victims, the label notes. Reflected in the glass are other photographs in the exhibition/Photo by Patricia Leslie, June 6, 2019

 David Levinthal, Wagon Train, 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie, June 6, 2019

David Levinthal with his diorama, Wagon Train (in right background)/Photo by Patricia Leslie, June 6, 2019

Detail from David Levinthal's Untitled from the series Wagon Train, 2018, Donald S. Rosenfeld Collection

David Levinthal, Untitled from the series American Beauties, 1990, Smithsonian American Art Museum, from creations of what were once deemed "beautiful" by male makers. The black background contrasts with the dancer's image and creates unease, notes the Smithsonian, while the shadowy snake shape at the dancer's feet adds to the tension.

David Levinthal, Helicopter from the series History, 2014, Smithsonian American Art Museum. If this reminds you of the Vietnam war, that's because the lifelike scene stems from the movie, Apocalypse Now.

From left, Joanna Marsh, Smithsonian American Art Museum curator and head of interpretation and audience research, David Levinthal, and Stephanie Stebich, SAAM director, at the opening of American Myth & Memory: David Levinthal Photographs Smithsonian American Art Museum/Photo by Patricia Leslie, June 6, 2019

David Levinthal with his Untitled from the series Barbie, 1998, Smithsonian American Art Museum/Photo by Patricia Leslie, June 6, 2019

David Levinthal with his Untitled from the series Baseball, 2004, Smithsonian American Art Museum. The photograph is of Lou Gehrig, dead at 37, from what is now known as Lou Gehrig's disease. He played 2,130 consecutive games, and his number "4" was the first to be retired by a baseball team/Photo by Patricia Leslie, June 6, 2019


David Levinthal (b. 1949) is one lucky dude: He's never had to give up his childhood playtime with cowboys and Indians. He's been able to saddle up and ride with them his whole life as they became objects in his lifelong photography career, a portion which is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum through Monday.

Mr. Levinthal's photographs of figures from the old West and others cut from popular American history are from his collection of 400 which he's donated to the museum. In the exhibition, American Myth & Memory:  David Levinthal's Photographs, 74 are shown.

Images of past ideals of American post-World War II society, the beauties, the pinups, the ball players, the wild west, and war, or, at least what artists and advertisers who shape our thinking would have us believe, are included. 

At first glance, all seems relatively well in this land of mostly make believe perfection, but not all is beauty and play. Unsettling backgrounds may escape a viewer's first glance.

Look and you shall find more stories and deeper meanings embedded in the images from yesterday's world. 

Today's pictures of ideals have changed dramatically since the last century, and while we may not practice ideal acceptance and tolerance, at least most of us are aware of their concepts and the importance of trying to understand.



 What: American Myth & Memory:  David Levinthal's Photographs

When: Closing Monday, October 14, 2019. The museum is open from 11:30 a.m.- 7 p.m. every day.

Where: Smithsonian American Art Museum, 8th and F streets, N. W., Washington, D.C. 20004

How much: No charge

For more information: 202-633-1000 or visit the website.

Metro station: Gallery Place-Chinatown or walk 10 minutes from Metro Center

patricialesli@gmail.com