Down on Mark Warner's farm

"This big piggy went to market, that little piggy stayed home, this big piggy ate roast beef, that little piggy had none, and this big piggy cried:  'I'm getting all et up!'"/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Somewhere in Northern Virginia a few folks turned up for Lisa Collis and Mark Warner's pig roast on their farm/Photo by Patricia Leslie

They are lined up for.../Photo by Patricia Leslie

Uummmm, uuummmmm, delish and oh, so tender. Sunglasses, not roasted/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In addition to the big roasted piggy, dinner on the grounds included burgers, dogs, the fix'uns, coleslaw, marinated tomatoes with cucumber and onions, sodas, beer, homemade lemonade, and, on the table above, watermelon and brownies/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Not everyone wore blue at the picnic, just those surrounding Virginia District Attorney Mark Herring (center) who wanted to talk some commonwealth politics. Among other notables, whom Senator Mark Warner welcomed to the roast, were Sue Langley, Jennifer Boysko, Stephen Spitz, Bruce and Kathy Neilson, Linda Burchfiel, and Paul Jameson/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Darn it all, I forgot my suit/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Ahoy, matey! A bath house!/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Always popular popcorn/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Inside this vat are all the chemicals heated up to douse the popcorn which makes it so distasteful to eat and so delish to consume/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Face paints, anyone?/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Asked the lad:  "Why do people complain about walking up the steps?" which descended to the dock. Answered a senior citizen: "Because they are old." (Not the steps!)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Guests could canoe, kayak, and ride a paddle boat on the Rappahannock River/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On the Rappahannock/Photo by Patricia Leslie  

The beautiful and lovely pines provided welcome shade on a hot day/Photo by Patricia Leslie 

All good things must come to an end/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On the Rappahannock/Photo by Patricia Leslie 

patricialesli@gmail.com 

Nats on fire, outasite, and streaking through the sky

It's time to play ball again at Nats Park/Photo by Patricia Leslie

It's a good thing the fire stations are in the vicinity of Nats Park.

That team is streakin' hot, and they are streakin' right this very minute as I write, shooting like the stars they are, coming home from Los Angeles in the nighttime sky, riding on a comet crest of hard work and determination.

Doncha think we should be there to welcome them at the airport tonight (which airport?) after their miraculous win, 8-5, in 14 innings which Manager Matt Williams said was the longest game in Nats' history, and I am so eat up with baseball this summer, I cannot believe I watch the post-game show. (Which airport?  We should be there with streamers and flags and confetti and fireworks.)

The Nats, really, are so much fun.  They are a really big show, and thank goodness they are coming home.

When the Nats defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks again (1-0) a couple of weeks ago, it was a thriller of a thriller, like an excruciatingly fantastic movie or book except we were there. 

It was the bottom of the ninth and the score was tied, 0 - 0, when D.C.'s own Denaaaaard Span stole another base (he is #11 this year in MLB's stolen bases), and there he stood atop second when Ren-DOAN hit a grounder over to third which Arizona caught and ripped over to first when the ball went astray, like into the dugout which meant!!!!...It meant (I learned the rule from my new friends from Nashville and Owensboro, Kentucky who came to sit with me in the rain) we got two bases which carried Denard to home plate, and just like that...Zap! Pow! We won another game.  (Have you ever noticed when the teams are doing great, "we" join them and they become "we"?)

YOWEE ZOWEE

Don't you love it the way Denaaard Span gets ready to bat?  He waves that bat around like a stripper waving a...whatever it is they wave around. A boa?/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

Denard gets ready to steal another base/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

Earlier, poor Jayson Weeeeerth lay in the dirt, which, from a distance, reminded me of a napping Golden Retriever, but no, actually it was home plate, where he hit himself in the leg (with the bat or the ball?) and collapsed and rolled over for a few seconds.  No one immediately came to his aid, and, amazingly, he stood up soon thereafter and batted away.  I thought he'd be replaced, since he put the hurt on him, but, no, that's not the way it works.  He kept at it.  Like they all have this season.  Like they did tonight...again!!!!

Poor (well, not really) Jayson Werth kneels and prays before he bats.  Not really.  He rises from the dirt after he conked his leg or his ankle or something in the Arizona game August 21. He got up and kept goin' like the Nats did tonight in L.A. Go, Nats!/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

Jayson's got a big fan following out there beyond first base where he stands in the outfield. If you get a seat in those parts, he might even pitch with you. Bring your glove! And don't keep the ball. He stands there with his hands on his hips like he is just disgusted that a fan would keep the ball he threw.  It happens.

Jayson Werth plays pitch with the crowd beyond first base/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Jayson Werth plays pitch with the crowd beyond first base/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Why don't they have a contest about Jayson's hair? 

Come on.  Why is he growing it so long? Don't you think that big pile of red/orange might slow him down? When he is running real fast, and it's blowing in the wind, don't you think it might impede his speed? Maybe it's because he looks like Jesus he can get away with it, and he runs with the force, because he walks sooooo slowly you'd never imagine he can run fast when the time is ripe or right. 

When Jayson finally decides to cut his hair, he could sell it at auction and raise a heap big pile of dollars for Children's Hospital or his favorite charity. Just thinking.

The armed forces acknowledge the cheers and recognition bestowed upon them at every Nats game/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Never in my life have I been as enthused about baseball as this summer.  I know all the players' names and have attended six, repeat, six games this season and for sure, won't miss the Bad Braves when they come to town next week and have gathered a group of five to go with me. I hope Kimbrel is the pitcher.  That stance!  He reminds me of a bird dog. 

Anyway, I know the batting order and the positions the guys play and can identify them. This truly is a miracle.  Nashville's Bert Mathews would be proud of me.

Question:  Why do baseball players spit?  What other sport finds players spitting?  Just asking.

And then there is Soriano.  Sexy Soriano. I don't know why it turns me on so much when he rips out that shirt at the end of a game, (Prithee:  Does he do that when the Nats lose?  But Carolinda doesn't like it) but I've been a huge fan of his ever since I read that story about him in the WAPO and the steam machine.  (Prithee:  Does he take that machine on the road?  It might require its own aeroplane.)

I love the way he slooowly walks to the pitcher's mound (he and Werth could have a slow-walking contest) like he is in a space ship, and momentum is forcing him to put one foot in front of the other. Soriano never loses his cool.  Soriano soars!

You see what all you are missing...hair blowin' in the wind, slow walks, the racing presidents, throwing balls with the big guys, mustard and dogs (I took that part out), beer, steam machines, a cup or two of a cold one, wins, sex, and how about some baseball?  It's all there!

Plus, my son from the West Coast taught me the cheapest way to buy Nats tickets:  StubHub.  The price you see is the price you'll pay (no fees).  I've been an exclusive user ever since.  Easy.  Prices for the Phillies and the Braves start at $6.  Can't beat it.  What a cheap date.  (Where is George?)

Every fourth inning at the Nats home games finds a presidents' race/Photo by Patricia Leslie

I just hope our Nats shake the Bad Braves' albatross next week and run all over them.  Especially Kimbrel.  Will somebody, please, throw that guy a bone.

patricialesli@gmail.com

 

McLean celebrates Middle Eastern Food Festival

At the entrance to Holy Transfiguration Melkite Greek-Catholic Church, 8502 Lewinsville Road, McLean, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

Hundreds turned out for the first day of the 21st annual Middle Eastern Food Festival at Holy Transfiguration Melkite Greek-Catholic Church in McLean to order up some of the best-tasting home cooked food in the area.  Couples from northwest D.C. and Alexandria said they had been attending the festival for years.  "Nothing can keep us away from good food," said a woman who drove almost an hour with her husband for their annual visit to the church to sample lamb and other delicacies on the menu.

A chef said 25 lambs were cooked for the annual Middle Eastern Food Festival at Holy Transfiguration Church in McLean/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Lamb kebabs were on the menu at the Middle Eastern Food Festival at Holy Transfiguration Church in McLean/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

The menu included vegetable burgers, $7.50; chicken shish kebab, shawarma with beef and lamb or chicken, kafta (beef and lamb) sandwiches, priced from $8.50 to $9; a la carte items: spinach pie, $3; hummus, $3; fattoush (a delicious Arabic salad), $3; meat pie, $3; hot dogs and chips, $3; kibbeh, $6.50; and entrees ranging from mujaddara (lentils and rice) at $7.50 to baked eggplant, $10, to a roasted lamb dinner, $15, and more choices.

 

On Saturday night customers waited in a long line for 6 p.m., the magic hour for lamb servings which will be available all day on Sunday, according to the website. Dancing to live music, and wine and Lebanese beer at $5 added to enjoyment.

Guests dined indoors and out at Holy Transfiguration Church in McLean/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Cooks at work in the kitchen at the Middle Eastern Food Festival at Holy Transfiguration Church in McLean.  In true Greek fashion, festival volunteers smiled and warmly welcomed all/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Arabic pastries at the Middle Eastern Food Festival at  Holy Transfiguration Church in McLean/Photo by Patricia Leslie

While adult dined, children rode swings and ponies at Holy Transfiguration Church in McLean/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Clothes, books, olive oil from southern Greece, and jewelry were some of the non-edibles sold at Holy Transfiguration's annual fundraiser in McLean/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Jewelry for sale at Holy Transfiguration's annual fundraiser in McLean/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Holy Transfiguration Melkite Greek-Catholic Church, 8502 Lewinsville Road, McLean, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

Tours of the church were given several times during the festival.  If you miss this year's event, there is next Labor Day weekend when Holy Transfiguration always celebrates Middle Eastern food. 

 

What:  Middle Eastern Food Festival at Holy Transfiguration Church

 

When: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., August 30, and 12 - 6 p.m., August 31, 2014

 

Where:  8502 Lewinsville Road, McLean, VA

 

How much:  No charge to attend.  

 

For more information:  703-734-9566 and www. holytransfiguration.org

 

Parking:  Limited along Lewinsville Road and in the church lot. Parking is safer and easier on neighborhood side streets.  Be careful walking along and crossing Lewinsville Road, and hold your dear ones' hands.

 

patricilesli@gmail.com

 

 

Amazon Amafan

A laptop battery for sale at Amazon

Last Friday I called up HP to buy a new battery for my HP laptop.  HP didn't have it, and the woman gave me the names and phone numbers of three vendors which might.

Like old car parts that are hard to find, if producers stopped selling the parts, the marketplace would be forced into buying more computers. Have you ever thought about that?

I wondered out loud if Amazon might carry the battery, and the HP woman said, "Oh!  You do not want to buy it there!  They will sell you one which isn't the right size, and it may damage your computer.  You don't want to go there."

I did.

I called HP's vendors, and after listening for a nanosecond to garbled menus (I can't stand those things) at the first two, hung up and went on to the third where I located a human.

"That will be $125 for that battery," he said. 

$125? That's all?  What a bargain.  Thank you very much and getoutahere! I can buy a new computer with a little more.

Ahem, how long will delivery take?

"We can get it to you next Thursday or Friday."

You've gotta be kidding.  Next Thursday or Friday?  Via donkey cart?  That is too long. 

"We can send it faster at a higher rate."  What a surprise.

At Amazon I found the battery pronto and decided the $20 (!) charge was not a huge investment and if it broke my computer, so what?  It's 4.5 years old and would give me an excuse to buy a new one.  And while it is true that the battery reviews weren't so hot, if one lasts six months, that would be enough time for me to buy a new computer and six batteries to equal the charge for one at HP's vendor.

The battery arrived on Tuesday, not Thursday or Friday per HP. It works fine.  Goodbye HP and vendors.  Hello Amazon.  It saves to shop around.

patricialesli@gmail.com

 

'Johnny Cash' onstage at Barter Theatre

The cast from Ring of Fire:  The Music of Johnny Cash, now on stage at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia.  From left are Mark T. Baczynski, Emily Mikesell, Katie Deal ("June Carter Cash"), Jason Petty ("Johnny Cash"), and Gill Braswell

 

For all Johnny Cash (1932-2003) music lovers, the show now playing at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, is one they will like.

The Barter Theatre, Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Rather than a musical, it's a posthumous concert featuring many of the star's hits, but not enough to enliven the first act which includes lesser-known tunes.

Jason Petty is an outstanding "Johnny" who looks, talks, and realistically brings back the "Man in Black," with a quick journey through Johnny's life told in words and song.  (It's unclear if Johnny Cash actually said or wrote the lines attributed to him in the presentation.)

Strangely absent are "Don't Take Your Guns to Town," "Understand Your Man," (Ghost) "Riders in the Sky," "Orange Blossom Special," and "One Piece at a Time,"  replaced by songs not as well known like "Straight A's in Love," "Delia's Gone," "Cocaine Blues," and "I Still Miss Someone."

Closing the first act is bathroom humor (yes, it is) with "Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart" and "Egg-Suckin' Dog" received enthusiastically by the audience which is finally rewarded with "Ring of Fire" sung in excellent harmony by "Johnny" and his bride-to-be, "June Carter Cash," the lovely, dashing Katie Deal who delivers an exceptional performance.

The second act takes off with music by the multi-talented cast which presents “I Walk the Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues, ”  "A Boy Named Sue," and "Jackson," among others.

Stationed on stage the whole time are Steve Sensenig on keys and David Streng on drums.  Their presence and instruments are distracting, but perhaps designed to fill half the set which does not vary from a framed barn, with the exception of the backdrop of photographs which change from farmland to sky to clouds, etc., in a tired technique now commonplace in many productions. 

Other musicians, Mark Baczynski and Gill Braswell, have speaking and singing parts, but when they pull and strum the strings on their guitars and bass, those undeniable talents  take over.

Meanwhile, Ms. Deal and Emily Mikesell, Johnny's "mother" and "Minnie Pearl" and bassist extraordinaire and fiddle player to kill, almost steal the show, sometimes overshadowing the star who seems almost listless at times.  But, perhaps that's the way "Johnny" really was. 

Throughout the production, "June" gazes longingly at her man with stars in her eyes, and their warm relationship translates well on the platform to produce a genuine bond. 

Period costuming (by Howard Tvsi Kaplan) refreshes the show periodically.

People pay for what they want to hear and why producers don't give it to them is perplexing. Since Johnny Cash is dead and not likely to bring out any new hits which some stars (Bob Dylan) like to introduce to fans (most of whom don't want to hear them), why not replace the lesser-knowns with Johnny's biggest numbers, the ones people know and love, the ones they come to hear?

Ring of Fire lived a short life when it opened in New York in 2006, but Variety predicted better success for the play when it moved to its country fan base which certainly includes Abingdon, Virginia.

The Barter Theatre, Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Ring of Fire was created by Richard Maltby, Jr., conceived by William Meade, and adapted from the Broadway production by Richard Maltby, Jr and Jason Edwards. Other members of the Barter Ring of Fire production team are Amy Jones, director and musical director; Andrew Morehouse, lighting designer; Derek Smith, set designer; Miles Polaski, sound designer; and Kristy Goebel, stage manager.

For more reviews of other plays in the region, go to DC Metro Theater Arts.

What:  Ring of Fire:  The Music of Johnny Cash

When:  Now through September 6, 2014

Where:  Barter Theatre, 127 West Main Street, Abingdon, Virginia 24210.  From Washington, drive out I66 West and down I81, about 5.5 hours if you don't stop to eat, and look out for the state troopers, lined up along 81, comparable to crocodiles ready to pounce and bite speeding motorists.

Tickets:  Start at $34.  Call 276-628-3991 or purchase them on the Web.

Note:  The Barter runs simultaneous plays, and you may also want to see Driving Miss Daisy.  Check  the listings on the calendar.

For more information:  276-628-3991

Accommodations:  Prices in Abingdon range from the plain to the fancy.  There's the lovely, quaint "fab 50s" motel on the hill at Exit 19, the Alpine, with old-fashioned but newly modernized huge rooms, and lawn chairs outside each door for guests to use for gazing a spell at the peaceful hills and farmlands.  Mountain air arrives in rooms via open windows.  If it's fancier digs you prefer (with ghosts), check out "The Martha" (as in "Washington"), across the street from the Barter.  Built in 1832 for a general's residence, it became a woman's college until it was overtaken by the Great Depression, which was the same time the Barter opened.

"The Martha" is one of several places in Abingdon which offer theatre packages. ("Martha's" start at $445, and it's a good deal.)   

A room with a view at the Alpine Motel, Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The "fab 50s" Alpine Motel with bush-covered sign on the hill, Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

"The Martha,"  Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The sitting area for the suite below at "The Martha," Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A suite at "The Martha," Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The library at "The Martha," Abingdon, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Abingdon was founded in 1776, and Wikipedia says it was likely named after Martha Washington's ancestral home in Oxfordshire, England. The U.S. town lies about 20 miles north of the Tennessee border above Bristol and prides itself on its old homes, historic shops, and tree-lined streets whose light posts hold baskets of flowers which fall gracefully to the streets.  Abingdon has good places to eat, see, browse, and visit, including a gentle nearby mountain trail, the Virginia Creeper, which is an easy delight to bike or walk down.

patricialesli@gmail.com

Rita Coolidge delights area fans

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

She'll turn 70 next year, but she sure doesn't look it, act it, or sing like it.

Instead, Rita Coolidge sings like she did after she graduated from college and tried her talents on stage, thrilling fans with her classy, signature voice which she did again Sunday evening for a crowd at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

She opened with a number she sang long ago and oh so far away which the Carpenters made legendary, "Superstar," a song no one wanted her to stop singing.

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Dazzling in a ruffled long black dress with curving hemline, silver clasp and lilac wrap, Rita looked like she may weigh all of 100 pounds.  And her long hair may account for half that weight.

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club with John Thomas on keys; John McDuffie (center), guitar, and Randy Landas, guitar/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Rita is her own, who can handle the singing herself, without echoes or fake background voices.

John McDuffie on a mean red guitar with Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.  Behind him is Randy Landas/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In the romantic, sexily lighted Jazz Club hall, she sang "Basic Lady," and when she got to Peggy Lee's "Fever," you got it. 

The first time she heard Peggy Lee sing the song, Rita was just three years old, she said.  It put a spell on the young listener, and right then and there: "I knew what I wanted to be. I knew I wanted to be here tonight, and here I am." She credited Bethesda's Blues owner, Rick Brown, for bringing her to Washington.

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Her most beautiful song of the night was the Cherokee National Anthem, sung by her ancestors in the 1830s while they traveled the Trail of Tears after President Andrew Jackson kicked them out of the Deep South.  The music is reminiscent of "Amazing Grace," and can be as emotionally wrenching for listeners as it is for vocalists.  Rita was born in Lafayette, Tennessee to a Cherokee father and a Scottish/Cherokee mother.

Reading the titles of many of her hits she sang at the Jazz Club may enable them to start spinning in your head: "We're All Alone," (Your Love Has Lifted Me) "Higher and Higher,"  "The Way You Do the Things You Do," and "Can't Stand The Rain."

Also, "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," and Bob Dylan's affable, "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," which she varied with a slower, sexier arrangement from Dylan's version.

Lynn Coulter was the drummer for Rita Coolidge's show at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.  He and Rita made sweet harmony in "Loving Arms"/Photo by Patricia Leslie

She mentioned her ex, Kris Kristofferson (married 1973-1980) and the joy they share in their only child, a daughter, Casey, and three granddaughters. Next spring HarperCollins will publish Rita's autobiography.

Most in the audience stood and applauded when the two hour set ended. Rita Coolidge bowed, and in her graceful way, exited the stage, to return seconds later for the encore and "I'd Rather Leave When I Am In Love" and "Lover, Please, Please Come Back." We will, Rita! 

If your experience is like mine at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club, you and your party will spend a totally delightful evening listening to fantastic music in an intimate setting with drinks and/or dinner, and you may be kicking up a heel or two for some of the acts come with dancing, theirs and yours. Cowboy hats, welcome.

What:  Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club

When: 12 p.m.-1 a.m., Monday-Saturday; 12 p.m.-12 a.m., Sunday

Where: 7719 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814

How much: Prices vary, depending upon artist. See the calendar.

Food and drink: The dining area has a $10 per person minimum which can be applied toward any item on the menu. Check out FAQ here. And here's the menu. I found the food (beet salad:  yummy) and drinks, good and reasonably priced.

Tickets: Call 240-330-4500 or go to the website.

Getting there: The Bethesda Metro station is about 1.5 blocks away, and parking is below the building (free on weekends). See directions.

For more posts on Rita Coolidge and the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, please click on the links.

patricialesli@gmail.com




 

National Gallery of Art claims most favorites in national contest

One of the 58 favorite masterpieces based on votes by Americans in Art Everywhere US.  The original is at the National Gallery of Art. John Singleton Copley, 1738 - 1815
Watson and the Shark, 1778
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ferdinand Lammot Belin Fund

Have you seen them?

On billboards and in bus shelters, subways, airports, movie trailers, and health clubs?

They are reproductions of American masterpieces voted on by the American people in an art popularity contest and displayed across the nation, 58 classic and contemporary works on 70,000 platforms to celebrate art heritage, history and culture, in the biggest outdoor U.S. art exhibition ever.

The American people are not ever going to forget George Washington, our first president. The original is at the National Gallery of Art.

Gilbert Stuart
American, 1755 - 1828
George Washington, c. 1821
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Gift of Thomas Jefferson Coolidge IV in memory of his great-grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, his grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge II, and his father, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge III

Art Everywhere US is the name of the project, and our own National Gallery of Art has more works (14) in the show than any of the other museums represented (the Art Institute of Chicago, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York).

One of the 58 favorite masterpieces based on votes by Americans in Art Everywhere US. The original is at the National Gallery of Art.

John Singer Sargent
American, 1856 - 1925
Nonchaloir (Repose), 1911
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Curt H. Reisinger

On its website, Art Everywhere US has images of the 58 paintings, and by clicking on them,  a visitor is immediately taken to an enlargement where the artist, museum and more information about each work are found. 

One of the 58 favorite masterpieces based on votes by Americans in Art Everywhere US. The original is at the National Gallery of Art.

Charles Sheeler
American, 1883 - 1965
Classic Landscape, 1931
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Barney A. Ebsworth

There's a map where visitors may check locations, and if you are in New York before September 1, look up in Times Square and see the art on digital billboards. In D.C and Baltimore, more than 100 images are in bus shelters and (outside D.C.) on billboards.

One of the 58 favorite masterpieces based on votes by Americans in Art Everywhere US. The original is at the National Gallery of Art.

Thomas Eakins, 1844 - 1916
The Biglin Brothers Racing, 1872
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney

It's fun to find out how Americans voted in the "American Art Pageant" and compare choices to ones made by the Brits for Art Everywhere UK, the predecessor for the U.S. project, and the brainchild of Richard Reed.

Quite a difference in nations' votes. Contrary to the Brits' "staid" motherland reputation, their picks strike me, on the whole, as a lot more contemporary than ours, but see for yourself.  And remember, 14 of the originals are right here to see for free in Washington, D.C.

One of the 58 favorite masterpieces based on votes by Americans in Art Everywhere US. The original is at the National Gallery of Art.

Winslow Homer
American, 1836 - 1910
Breezing Up (A Fair Wind), 1873-1876
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of the W. L. and May T. Mellon Foundation

Credit for this mammoth undertaking and completion of the project goes to the museums, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, its members, artists, estates, foundations, rights agencies, and sponsors. (I believe that training by this group in their practices and savvy means of cooperation to achieve common goals would benefit the U.S. Congress, and ultimately, the American taxpayer.  I would vote for that.  You see what art can do!  Make a better Congress.)

Click here for the complete list of 58 and to find out which of the works are in Washington. If you enter the name of the artist and painting here, click search and then, "on view," its location with a map of the National Gallery will magically appear. 

What:  Art Everywhere US

When:  Now through August 31, 2014

Where: Everywhere with 14 originals at the National Gallery of Art, between Third and Ninth streets at Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. On the Mall.  The National Gallery is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sunday, from 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. 

How much:  No charge to see outdoor or indoor art in Washington, D.C.

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