at the corcoran gallery

I went to Corcoran Gallery on Saturday. I didn’t want to sit on my bum at home but I was too tired to do anything active. Just finished off a row of night shifts… So I just went touristing around town.

Shorts >>> cut-off jeans from Express    Top/Sandals>>> Zara   Ring>>> Can’t remember?   Hat >>> H&M   Bag >>> Thrifted at NY Buffalo Exchange

(Style pics taken a block down at the OAS building, not to confuse anyone :)

You can catch an impromptu drawing class for FREE in the Corcoran lobby. You will have a live model to play with and just draw and paint away. Pretty cool. There were lots of little kids and it was interesting to see how they all had their own unique style. They didn’t bother trying to be “correct.” They just drew what they saw. Many adults and a few semi-serious young drawers in the bunch too. So good fun for everyone.

You can also meet Randolph. That’s Randolph down there in the 4th picture. He’s a Corcoran College Grad and he’s painting the front steps of the museum to promote the Free Saturdays. Normally it costs $10 but all summer all you can get in for free on Saturdays. If I worked close I’d probably have lunch there sometimes. It’s a nice place to just pop in, grab a bite, and see whatever new exhibit they’ve got.

I’m not a fan of spending 500 hours in museums. If I see one painting, one photograph that’s interesting and makes me think for a week afterwards then I’m happy. If it inspires me to expand my life, write, or just amuses me, I’m happy.  The Corcoran is a lovely space. I saw the American room and the Salon Doré.

Randolph’s painting (left) Into Bondage by Aaron Douglas (1936, right). The way he treats light in this painting is interesting, like it ripples. And if you think about it, when you’re facing the sunlight in the afternoon, it does ripple. The ripples of light seem to get smaller and brighter in the distance ahead and then behind there is a wider circle of darkness as you get further from the light. He does all that with just geometric shapes!

Longshoremen by John George Brown (1879). I like that they are reading the news. I’ve just seen The New York Times documentary Page One and so I’m thinking about the importance of good hard news organizations in society. Basically they self-adulate and talk about how indispensable the The New York Times is, which is it is (I love the The New York Times, read it every day). But I think smaller organizations with more local voices are important too. Plurality of voices makes the discussion more interesting, the information more complete and makes for a more vibrant engaged society. Two pennies please for my thoughts!

A Pastoral Visit by Richard Norris Brooke. I just like the detail in this painting (look at her scarf and shirt). It’s life happening before your eyes. I feel movement even though I’m looking at a static frame.

And here we enter the Salon Doré. This room is like the Taj Mahal without the death part. A certain Count D’ Orsay built this room for his lady whom he was to marry in the 1770s. Fast forward a century later. A U.S. Senator buys the whole thing and hauls it off to New York. New York, that great repository of culture! Then he died and bequeathed the whole lot to the Corcoran in 1926. The museum, grateful and gracious built an exact space to house the room. This room was originally in the Hotel de Clermont in Paris, Count D’Orsay’s home. I think the lady was impressed, don’t ya? This is way beyond the diamond necklace.