By 1820 the original Declaration of Independence had already suffered the effects of time and exposure. To preserve its appearance, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams commissioned a Washington engraver, William J. Stone, to create a facsimile. It took Stone more than three years to execute the copperplate engraving, from which 200 copies on parchment were issued to surviving signers, government officials, and others. This is one of only 31 existing copies of the Stone facsimile, which is on view near American artist Gilbert Stuart's portraits of Declaration of Independence signers John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

 

Through September 5

West Building, Main Floor, Gallery 60A

The title of this major work from Anne Truitt's breakthrough years might refer to the 19th-century medieval fictions of Howard Pyle or to the Kennedy Administration ("Camelot"). The Gallery's collection also includes two of her columnar works and one small horizontal piece. The acquisition of Knight's Heritage, made possible by the Collectors Committee, establishes a more complete representation of this influential American sculptor's career.

 

East Building, Concourse Galleries

In her fascinating new book, Modigliani: A Life, Meryle Secrest, biographer of art world personalities such as Bernard Berenson, Joseph Duveen, and Frank Lloyd Wright, offers a full portrait of one of the 20th century's master painters and sculptors, Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920). Given unprecedented access to letters, diaries, and photographs, Secrest reveals the lengths to which Modigliani went to hide his tuberculosis and cement his status as a world-renowned artist. Book signing follows.

 

June 19, 2:00

East Building Auditorium

The series honoring the 100th anniversary of the death of composer Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) concludes with Provocations of the Body: The Art of Egon Schiele on June 1 and The Expressionist Language of Oskar Kokoschka on June 8, presented by lecturer David Gariff. (Image: Auguste Rodin, Gustav Mahler, 1909, bronze, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Lotte Walter Lindt in memory of her father, Bruno Walter)

 

June 1 and 8, 2:00

West Building Lecture Hall

Color restorations of wide-screen releases from the 1950s confirm that 35 mm print production is still flourishing in the age of the download. A highlight of this series is Sam Fuller's 1955 House of Bamboo on June 18. Beautifully exploiting a lush Tokyo setting, the camera at one point opens up on a streetscape with Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel, a structure later demolished. (Image: Still from House of Bamboo, Samuel Fuller, 1955, 35 mm, Eastmancolor, 102 minutes, Photofest)

 

June 12, 18, 19, 25, 26

Times vary; see individual dates

East Building Auditorium

On June 5 pianist Joel Fan (pictured at left) performs music by Beethoven, Schoenberg, and Scriabin. On June 12 the Texas Children's Choir (directed by Thomas Hardaway) and soprano Anne-Marieke Evers present songs from 17th-century Holland in honor of the exhibition Gabriel Metsu, 1629–1667. Concerts in the West Garden Court resume in September.

 

June 5, 6:30

West Building, West Garden Court

June 12, 6:30

East Building Auditorium

As summer arrives, Sunography kits provide a wonderful outdoor art activity for kids to create images using the sun's rays. Place any object or transparency on the Sunography fabric, expose it in bright sunlight, and rinse to reveal a rich blue print. Unlike other sun print kits, Sunography is light sensitive on both sides. The 100 percent cotton, 6 x 6" squares come in six assorted colors: violet, lime, turquoise, orange, rose, and white. ($17.50)

 

To greet summer, Fiola's celebrated Chef Fabio Trabocchi lightens up the menu in early June with new dishes such as watermelon salad and chicken with rosemary, garlic, and tomato sauce. Celebrating the exhibition Italian Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, 1525–1835, on view through November 27, the cafe provides complimentary recipe cards upon request. Reservations are recommended; please call (202) 712-7454. (Image: Mozzarella caprese, photo by Rob Shelley)

 

Monday–Saturday, 11:30–3:00

Sunday, noon–4:00

Sunday, 4:00–6:00 (June 5 and 12 only)

West Building, Ground Floor

Paul Gauguin created sumptuous, colorful images of Brittany and the islands of the South Seas—some of the most appealing paintings in modern art—which are among more than 100 works featured in the first major Gauguin retrospective in the United States in 20 years. Organized around themes of the artist/creator, earthly paradise, "noble savage," and exotic Eve, this exhibition examines Gauguin's use of religious and mythological motifs to tell stories as he reinvented and appropriated myths from his European cultural heritage and Polynesian legend.

 

Through June 5

East Building

In the decade following the Civil War, rowing became one of America's most popular spectator sports. When its champions, the Biglin brothers of New York, visited Philadelphia in the early 1870s, Thomas Eakins made numerous paintings and drawings of them and other racers. Himself an amateur oarsman and a friend of the Biglins, Eakins portrays John with his blade still feathered, almost at the end of his return motion. Barney, a split-second ahead in his stroke, watches for his younger brother's oar to bite the water.

 

West Building, Main Floor, American galleries