 Herbert Vogel spent most of his working life as a postman, and Dorothy Vogel was a reference librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library. Setting their collecting priorities above those of personal comfort, the couple devoted Herbert's salary to the acquisition of contemporary art. The Vogel 50x50 Web site brings together 2,500 contemporary works of art that were distributed throughout the nation as part of The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States gift, a joint initiative of the Trustees of the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection and the National Gallery of Art. Visit the Web site to browse the Vogel collection by artist, medium, or keyword; take an online tour with insights from curators and institutions; or search for a specific artwork or artist.
vogel5050.org/ (Web site)
www.nga.gov/programs/film/index.shtm#vogels (See the film)
shop.nga.gov/nga/category.cgi?item=410000353301 (Purchase the film)
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| NEW SCULPTURE GARDEN INSTALLATION: GRAFT BY ROXY PAINE |
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 Recently installed in the Sculpture Garden, Roxy Paine's Graft is a stainless steel treelike sculpture, or "Dendroid." The piece presents two fictive but distinct species of trees joined to the same trunk. One is gnarled, twisting, and irregular; the other smooth, elegant, and rhythmic. Among its rich associations, this sculpture evokes the persistent human desire to alter and recombine elements of nature, as well as the ever-present tension between order and chaos. The piece is uniquely appropriate for the Sculpture Garden, a space that balances art and nature within an urban yet verdant setting. Visit the Sculpture Garden via our online feature.
www.nga.gov/collection/paineinfo.htm (installation information)
www.nga.gov/feature/sculpturegarden/general/index.htm (Sculpture Garden) |
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| THIS MONTH'S FEATURED WORK OF ART FROM THE COLLECTION: FANNY/FINGERPAINTING BY CHUCK CLOSE |
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 Chuck Close's Fanny/Fingerpainting, a portrait of his mother-in-law, represents one of the largest and most masterly executions of a technique the artist developed in the mid-1980s. That technique involved the direct application of pigment to a surface with the artist's fingertips. By adjusting the amount of pigment and the pressure of his finger on the canvas, Close could achieve a wide range of tonal effects. Typically, he worked from a black-and-white photograph that he divided into many smaller units by means of a grid. On view in the East Building, Concourse Gallery lobby.
www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=69637 (Fanny/Fingerpainting)
www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/tbio?tperson=6157" (Chuck Close biography) |
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| HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART |
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 An array of festive activities awaits at the National Gallery of Art this holiday season. The Gallery's beautifully decorated Rotunda and seasonally themed gallery talks, films, concerts, and caroling have become a highlight of many visitors' holiday itineraries. Information about these free 2009 events can be found online, in addition to multimedia features such as a streaming slideshow and audio tour of Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi's Florentine Renaissance masterpiece The Adoration of the Magi.
www.nga.gov/programs/holfest.htm (holiday festivities information)
www.nga.gov/collection/adoration.htm (The Adoration of the Magi slideshow)
shop.nga.gov/nga/category.cgi?category=holiday (holiday shop) |
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 NGAkids Faces & Places is a two-part interactive exploration of American folk art. Using pictorial elements inspired by the Gallery's extensive collection of naive paintings donated by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, youngsters can construct panoramic landscapes and create portraits featuring a lively cast of characters. Traditional folk music and surprising animations enliven the online compositions. This Art Zone activity is suitable for all ages.
www.nga.gov/kids/zone/facesplaces.htm |
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| RECENT ACQUISITION: NATHAN HALE BY FREDERICK WILLIAM MACMONNIES |
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 The Gallery's first work by Frederick William MacMonnies (1863–1937), a star pupil of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, is a moving bronze image of Nathan Hale, an iconic martyr of the American Revolution. MacMonnies won the commission for an eight-foot-tall statue of Hale (1755–1776) in a competition sponsored by the Sons of the Revolution in the state of New York. The competition model won MacMonnies a medal at the Paris Salon of 1891, the first such award given to an American sculptor. Learn more about American beaux arts and the Gallery's collection of sculpture on our Web site. On view in the West Building, Ground Floor, Gallery 1C.
www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/search_acc?acc=2008.101.1 (Nathan Hale)
www.nga.gov/collection/sculpture/flash/index.htm (Sculpture Galleries Web feature) |
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 Shop for friends and family this holiday season at the National Gallery of Art online Shop. A variety of elegant card sets, ornaments, gift cards and tags, holiday music CDs, and books are available for purchase. Gifts may also be purchased in person from the special holiday shop, located between the West Building Shop and the Garden Cafe.
shop.nga.gov/nga/category.cgi?category=holiday |
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| DINE AT THE AMERICAN CAFE |
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 Continuing its popular themed menus inspired by exhibitions, the Garden Cafe at the National Gallery of Art has been transformed into the American Cafe on the occasion of the exhibition The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: Selected Works. The new menu features regional American cooking from throughout the East Coast, from New England to Florida, in honor of the regions that the collectors and many of the major artists whose work they have collected called home. Preview our menu online, which includes local ingredients such as artisanal cheeses from Georgia, Vermont, and Maryland, and traditional Smithfield ham made in Virginia.
www.nga.gov/ginfo/cafes.htm#garden |
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| NEW INTERNSHIPS ANNOUNCED |
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 Since 1964 the National Gallery of Art has offered professional museum training to candidates from all backgrounds through a variety of internship and volunteer programs. New opportunities for internships in the museum profession, graduate curatorial internships, summer 2010 internships, volunteers, research assistantships, and apprenticeships are now open for application, and detailed information is available to potential applicants online.
www.nga.gov/education/internvol.htm (volunteers, research assistantships, and apprenticeships)
www.nga.gov/education/internsumm.htm (summer 2010 internships)
www.nga.gov/education/interned.htm (graduate internships) |
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| DECEMBER CALENDAR OF EVENTS |
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 Plan your visit to the Gallery with the help of the December Calendar of Events. Schedules of films, lectures, gallery talks, family activities, and concerts provide details about each event. Check back often for the most up-to-date information, as new events are regularly added.
www.nga.gov/programs/calendar |
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 On December 1, 1960, Duncan Phillips concluded his 21 years of service as a trustee of the National Gallery of Art. A highly-respected collector, he had established the Phillips Gallery (now Phillips Collection) in 1918 to display his own art collection. |
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