We walked two blocks from the metro stop and were soon picking up a map of the museum. Huddling over the map we considered what to look at first. But I just couldn't wait so instead of looking around we asked where we could find Georgia's paintings. Up to the second floor we went into a "Modernism" section. Stepping through the door I saw them. Across the room I recognized her style immediately. Now I had seen a couple of her landscapes at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art a few years back. But never her flowers which have always been my favorite. And there was one right in front of me. We popped back and forth between "Hibiscus with Plumeria" and an abstract design deemed "Only One". We marveled at the color combinations and studied her patterns and brush stokes. I've said this before but it's really true: when I look at a piece of art, the longer I look the more I see. It's almost as if the piece transforms before my eyes even though it remains the same - it's just my brain that races to catch up.
We had been walking back and forth between these two paintings that were separated by a large rectangular canvas. During one pass my eyes danced over the description of the larger painting and what I read stopped me in my tracks. It was one of hers as well but I never would've guessed that had I not read the nameplate. Titled "Manhattan" it was nothing like her other paintings. All hard lines and strange color combinations that had us confused. However, upon closer inspection we realized that the painting, while at first glance so very different, still had traces of her in it.
It was hard to believe that I was standing right next to three of her paintings and so it was difficult to walk away. We spent some time perusing the rest of the modern pieces - I really liked this one because it was a painting that looked like stained glass.
Then we moved on to Impressionism but not before being side tracked by a two panelled stained glass window. Upon close inspection I realized that many of the pieces of glass were not smooth but surprisingly jagged. The pieces extended outward, toward the viewer, from the lead bezel that held each little jewel in place. The effect was striking and nothing that I would expect from stained glass; I had only ever seen completely smooth pieces. These particular windows held the smallest pieces of stained glass I'd ever seen. I couldn't imagine trying to put these windows together one tiny piece at a time!
After sitting with the stained glass we did make it to the Impressionists. The photo doesn't begin to do it justice as this is an incredible subject created with a trillion tiny brushstrokes. I have no idea how the artists keep their wits about them when creating such a small portion of the piece with each brushstroke. Incredible. Beautiful and moving.
After checking out a few of the other wings we took a trip through the gift shop and then decided it was time to get back. We walked back to the Metro, disembarked at Silver Spring station and with a little help from Google Maps found a Chipotle nearby our hotel. And no, it wasn't the only place I ate at while in DC! :)
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