Visited the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery…left disappointed

Published on April 7th, 2011 by Natasha McEachron

I strongly prefer sculptures over paintings. However, last spring while visiting Washington, DC I took a chance and added the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery to my list of places to visit. I have an interest in history and reasoned that in spite of the museum housing mostly paintings, the historical content would be worth the visit. My mom and I arrived with moderate expectations about an hour before closing figuring that we’d move quickly through the museum and it wouldn’t be a big deal if we didn’t get to see everything. We ended up leaving the museum disappointed.

What was originally planned as a leisurely stop after lunch ended being an exciting dash through the museum to see as much as possible before the guards kicked us out. We began on the ground floor and worked our way through “American Origins”, a part of “The Struggle for Justice”, and ended with what was probably a ten minute rush through “America’s Presidents”.

I didn’t get to see everything but I saw enough to want to visit again and open myself up to rethinking my art preferences. Well played Smithsonian. Well played.

Visit the National Portrait Gallery Website