A Day in the District

Today being my only day off while I'm out east for work, I spent it being a tourist in DC and had quite an enjoyable time, so I thought I'd share in the form of a picture-and-link-filled post. As you can see, it was a gloriously sunny fall day, perfect for a long walk along the mall amidst the fall colors. But before that I went to the National Gallery to look at paintings.

On the east side I went to the current Edward Hopper exhibit, which was really enjoyable. I, like most Americans, was familiar with his "Nighthawks" piece and some others of New York everyday scenes, but I didn't know as much about his paintings done during his time spent on Cape Cod and coastal Maine. These were neat to see - there was even one piece depicting Vermont's White River, East Branch that showed a section I could swear we canoed a time or two while at Dartmouth. The way that Hopper portrays the ambiguity of his scenes and subjects is perhaps what is most intriguing. As in Nighthawks, and others, there are any number of ways to imagine what the people in his paintings are thinking, feeling, wondering, or anticipating. As the museum brochure states more eloquently than I can, "From his distillations emerge poignant and enigmatic pictures filled with audible silences and pregnant pauses: Hopper's art speaks volumes without uttering a word." Highly recommended. Over in the West Gallery there was an exhibit on J.W.M Turner, who seemed to enjoy painting large British warships of the early 1800s, but that one didn't inspire me quite as much. Also, there were lots of old paintings, including some neat ones by that guy over there on the right.

In keeping with the dog-themed birthday cards, I thought I'd look for dog-themed paintings. Here's the three that I found, sorry if they are blurry, I was avoiding use of the flash:

Fancy Woman with Pug - apparently they (pugs) were en vogue back then too.

Hunting Guy with Dead Bird and Ferocious Dog - How safe is your left hand, mister?

Dog in a Punt (that's the actual name of the painting) - The look on that face says "I know I'm probably not supposed to, but I'm about to jump in and you can't stop me." Kinda looks like a labradoodle, no?

After the National Gallery I found the Capitol City Brewing Company for lunch, then continued to wander down the mall to the Lincoln, Korean War, FDR, and Jefferson Memorials. I hadn't seen the FDR memorial before, and was struck by the particular current relevance of some of the quotes inscribed into this "walk-through" monument of stone, waterfalls, and sculpture.

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."

"We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all our citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization."

(I had to include this one because of the dog)

If you are curious, all of the quotes from the FDR memorial can be found here.

At the Jefferson Memorial, there are four texts inside the dome, and I thought this one was worth reading a second time:

I am certainly not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.

All in all, a good time being a DC tourist, and I got to visit with Mei-Yen (of the sidebar fame from her New Zealand trip) and some of her friends for a pot-luck dinner! Two more days and then home for Thanksgiving.