GENERAL INFORMATION
Reading edition
The National Gallery is open to the public every day in the year except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Admission is free at all times.
HOURS
Regular: Weekdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, 12 noon to 9 p.m.
Summer: During the summer months the regular hours are extended to 9 p.m. Dates for the beginning and termination of evening hours are announced on Gallery information boards and in the Gallery’s monthly Calendar of Events.
ART INFORMATION DESKS
There are two art information desks: one at the Constitution Avenue entrance on the Ground Floor; and the other at the Mall entrance near the Rotunda on the Main Floor.
CHECKROOMS
Free checking service is provided near the entrances. All parcels, briefcases, and umbrellas must be checked.
PUBLICATIONS SERVICE
Reproductions and catalogues of the collections are sold in the publications salesroom on the Ground Floor near the Constitution Avenue entrance. Books and catalogues, postcards, color reproductions, framed reproductions, original color slides, recordings, portfolios, sculpture reproductions (including jewelry), note folders, and other publications are available.
TOURS
Gallery talks and free tours of the collection are given by the Education Department.
An Introductory Tour, lasting about 50 minutes, covers the Gallery’s highlights. It is offered at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
The Tour of the Week, lasting about 50 minutes, concentrates on a specific topic or on a special exhibition. It is given at 1 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
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The Painting of the Week, a 15-minute gallery talk on a single picture in the collection, is scheduled at noon and 2 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and at 3:30 and 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Special appointments for groups of 15 or more people can be arranged by applying to the Education Department at least two weeks in advance.
Recorded tours, one offering a selection of the Director’s choice of paintings and another discussing works in various galleries, may be rented for nominal fees.
LECTURES
Lectures by visiting art authorities, and occasionally by members of the Gallery staff, are given at 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoons in the Auditorium.
The subjects are often grouped to form a series treating a single aspect of art history. Admission is free and no reservations are required. The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, a special series commissioned by the National Gallery, which are subsequently published in book form, take place during the spring.
FILMS
Free films on art are presented on a varying schedule. For further information on tours, lectures, and films, consult the Gallery’s Calendar of Events.
CONCERTS
Free concerts are given in the East Garden Court every Sunday evening at 7 p.m. (with the exception of the summer period from late June to late September). Concerts are given either by guest artists or by the National Gallery of Art Orchestra under the direction of Richard Bales. The programs, with intermission talks or interviews by the Gallery staff, are broadcast live over WGMS-AM (570) and FM (103.5). Seats, which are not reserved, are available after 6 p.m.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
The monthly Calendar of Events listing special exhibitions, lectures, concerts, and films at the National Gallery of Art will be sent to you regularly, free of charge, if you fill out an application at either information desk.
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EXTENSION SERVICE
A variety of educational materials suitable for schools, colleges, and libraries can be borrowed from the Gallery. Color slide programs, with accompanying audio cassettes, texts, and study prints, cover a wide range of subjects. A number of films, including “Art in the Western World” and “The American Vision,” are available. All material is lent free of charge except for return postage. For information, apply to the office of the Extension Service.
SLIDE LENDING SERVICE
Slides of the Gallery’s collection are available as loans to organizations, schools, and colleges without charge. For information, apply to the slide library in the Education Department.
PHOTOGRAPHY OF WORKS OF ART
Photography for personal purposes, with or without flash, but not with a tripod, is permitted throughout the Gallery unless signs in a particular area indicate to the contrary. Application for permission to use a tripod should be made to the Photographic Services Office, Monday through Friday, exclusive of legal holidays.
PERMITS TO COPY WORKS OF ART
Easels and stools are provided without charge for those individuals who have secured permission to copy works of art in the Gallery. Application for permits should be made at the Registrar’s Office. Letters of reference and examples of work are required before permission to copy may be granted. No special permission is required for sketching without easels if only nonliquid materials, such as pencil, ballpoint pen, or crayon, are used.
CAFÉ/BUFFET
The café/buffet is open every day of the year except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. It is located at the Concourse level and may be reached from the Main Floor via the East Garden Court and East Lobby or from the 4th Street Plaza.
Regular hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, and 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.
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Summer hours: During the period when the Gallery is open until 9 p.m., the café/buffet remains open until 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. Sunday hours are 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
SMOKING ROOMS
Two lounges are provided for smoking: the smoking room on the Ground Floor and the Founder’s Room on the Main Floor near the Rotunda. Smoking is also permitted in the café/buffet but is strictly prohibited in all halls and exhibition galleries.
RESTROOMS
Restrooms are located on the Ground Floor, at the top of each staircase near the Rotunda on the Main Floor, and at the Concourse level.
FIRST AID
An emergency room, under the supervision of a trained nurse, is available for first-aid treatment in case of accident or sudden illness. It is located on the Ground Floor near the entrance to the Auditorium. The guards will direct visitors to this room on request.
WHEELCHAIRS • STROLLERS
Strollers for small children and wheelchairs are available from the guards at both entrances without charge. Attendants for pushing wheelchairs are not available.
TELEPHONES
Pay-station telephone booths are on the Ground Floor near the stairways, on the Main Floor near the Rotunda, and at the Concourse level.
GUARD REGULATIONS
The guards are under orders not to permit visitors to touch the paintings or sculpture under any circumstances. Fountain pens with fluid ink may not be used in the galleries. Smoking is forbidden in the exhibition areas.
PLANTS AND FLOWERS
Flowers and plants in the courts are grown in the National Gallery’s greenhouses and are changed frequently by the Gallery’s horticultural staff. There are special floral displays at Christmas and Easter in both the Garden Courts and the Rotunda.
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Board of Trustees The Chief Justice of the United States, Chairman The Secretary of State The Secretary of the Treasury The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Paul Mellon John Hay Whitney Franklin D. Murphy Carlisle H. Humelsine John R. Stevenson
Officers and Staff President: Paul Mellon Vice President: John Hay Whitney Director: J. Carter Brown Assistant To the Director for Music: Richard Bales Assistant To the Director for National Programs: W. Howard Adams Assistant To the Director for Public Information: Katherine Warwick Assistant To the Director for Special Events: Robert L. Pell Construction Manager: Hurley F. Offenbacher Planning Consultant: David Scott Assistant Director/Chief Curator: Charles Parkhurst Curators: American Painting: William P. Campbell Dutch and Flemish Painting: Arthur Wheelock French Painting: David E. Rust Graphic Arts: Andrew C. Robison Italian Painting, Northern and Later: Sheldon Grossman Italian Painting, Early: David Alan Brown Northern European Painting To 1700: John Hand Sculpture: Douglas Lewis, Jr. Spanish Painting: Anna M. Voris Twentieth-century Art: E. A. Carmean, Jr. Curator of Education: Margaret I. Bouton Head, Extension Program Development: Joseph J. Reis Head, Art Information Service: Elise V. H. Ferber Chief Librarian: J. M. Edelstein Editor: Theodore S. Amussen Head Conservator: Victor C. B. Covey Chief, Design and Installation: Gaillard F. Ravenel Chief, Exhibitions, Loans and Registration: Jack C. Spinx Registrar: Peter Davidock Head Photographer: William J. Sumits Treasurer: Lloyd D. Hayes Assistant Treasurer: James W. Woodard Administrator: Joseph G. English Assistant Administrator: George W. Riggs Personnel Officer: Jeremiah J. Barrett Secretary and General Counsel: Robert Amory, Jr.
Gifts and Bequests
The Board of Trustees has full power to accept gifts, bequests, or devises of works of art, money, or other personal or real property, and either absolutely or in trust. Gifts and donations to the National Gallery of Art are deductible for Federal income tax purposes within the limits provided by law, and are welcomed in amounts of any size.
★U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1976 O—207-802
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Main Floor
Services
Men’s Room
Women’s Room
Checkroom
Information
Telephone
Elevator and Stairways
To: 1 Ground Floor
4th Street Entrance
To: Concourse
Café/Buffet
Mall Entrance
Ground Floor
Services
Women’s Room
Men’s Room
Checkroom
Information
Telephone
First Aid
Facilities for the Handicapped
Sales Shop
Special Exhibitions
Constitution Avenue Entrance
4th Street Entrance
Auditorium
Elevator and Stairway
To: 2 Main Floor
To: Concourse
Café/Buffet
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Main Floor Schools of Painting Central Italian and Florentine Renaissance North Italian and Venetian Renaissance 17th and 18th Century Italian Spanish Flemish and German Dutch 17th and 18th Century French 19th Century French British American Special Exhibitions Sculpture West Garden Court Rotunda East Garden Court Mall Entrance
Address:
National Gallery of Art
6th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20565
Telephone:
(202) 737-4215
Cable Address:
NATGAL
Pennsylvania Avenue
Constitution Avenue
7th Street
U. S. Capitol