Martin Puryear's C.F.A.O., 2006-2007, painted and unpainted pine and found wheelbarrow. Courtesy the artist and Donald Young Gallery, Chicago. © 2008 Martin Puryear. Photo Richard P. Goodbody When Martin Puryear visited the National Gallery of Art last week for the press opening of his retrospective show, he spoke about how he grew up in Washington, and as a child would often visit the gallery. He didn’t imagine that one day the museum would host......

The death of the irrepressibly innovative artist Robert Rauschenberg on Monday marks a loss for the entire world of art. Tyler Green rounds up a list of obituaries and more for accounts on the man. In D.C., the loss is acutely felt, owing to his many fine works in the national collections this city hosts, but that should also serve as a warm reminder about his life and works. District viewers were very recently graced......

The National Gallery of Art rapidly expanded its collection this week, in a boon of an agreement with one of the greatest private modern art collectors in the world, the Washington Post reports. Philanthropist Robert E. Meyerhoff houses 265 pieces of phenomenal postwar artwork at his estate just north of Baltimore, and established a relationship with the NGA years ago, where you'll already find works by Picasso and Andy Warhol the family has loaned or......

On most Sunday evenings in Washington, the National Gallery of Art hosts a free classical music concert series. The venue is, with some exceptions, the pretty if hyper-resonant West Garden Court in the West Building, an aesthetically pleasing location although there are not many good sight lines. The line-up is a mixture of local performers and bigger names, with the occasional visit by an extraordinary player or ensemble. The virtue of this series is that......

FRIDAY: >> The 18th Street Lounge's regular Wednesday night reggae stars SEE-I are at the Rock and Roll Hotel to celebrate the holidays with some friends who are sure to get you dancing too -- DJ Mat the Alien and remix artists Fort Knox Five. Tickets for the Happy FKX-XMas are $10. >> Rufus Wainwright begins a two-night stint at the 9:30 Club tonight with his sister, Lucy Wainwright Roche. Tickets are still available for......

As you might imagine, there's not a whole lot going on in the art world this week, and unlike the last holiday, even the Smithsonians close on Christmas Day. Nevertheless, we found a few exhibits for you to poke around this weekend. And if you're one of those last minute gift buyers and can't bear to wage war at the mall, don't forget our guide to art museum memberships for something a little more unique......

Over at Modern Art Notes, blogger Tyler Green has the (hilariously named) MANscoop that the National Gallery of Art is in negotiations to expand across the street from its current location on Constitution Avenue into the Federal Trade Commission building. The deal isn't sealed yet, but Green's sources sound pretty confident that the museum will be moving over to the space in time for a 2012 opening. MAN has a decent history of the two......

FRIDAY: >>Great quadruple bill comes to the Rock and Roll Hotel: Three Stars alums Jukebox the Ghost (pictured right) and tour diarists These United States join DCist fave Ra Ra Riot and Sam Champion. All that for the low, low price of $10 before, $12 at the door. Show 9 p.m. >> The Black Cat once again hosts Cryfest, everyone's favorite dance party that pits The Smiths vs. The Cure, brought to you by DJs......

Most of this week looks sleepy as far as classical music goes. However, by the end of the week, there will be three events, all of which are high on our December list and all happening simultaneously. How to choose? SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY: >> Wagnerian tenor Ben Heppner is scheduled to give a recital on Sunday afternoon (December 2, 5:30 p.m.) at Baltimore's Shriver Hall. It will be Heppner's first appearance in Baltimore and his......

The world premiere of Sanctuary, a new work for amplified, computer-modified percussion ensemble by Roger Reynolds (b. 1934), took place at the National Gallery of Art on Sunday evening. It was an event, the sort of concert that gets noticed by Alex Ross: alas, the element that would have sealed its place in history, an angry riot by perturbed listeners, did not happen. The mistake that caused the failure to obtain a true succès de......

My mother and I used to think we were so clever sneaking out of the house after the post-pumpkin pie haze to spend our tryptophan relaxing time at the movie theater, while our extended family lay sprawled on the couches in front of the boob tube ... until a few years later when the entire world caught on and every theater had lines around the block on Turkey Day. Lucky for you, we're in Washington,......

After a weekend full of concerts, there is not much to mention this week, for obvious, turkey-related reasons. Still, if you find yourself in town this week, there will be a few things to hear, although tickets may be hard to find. >> On Monday (November 19, 7:30 p.m.), French violinist Nicolas Dautricourt will be hosted by his country's embassy, La Maison Française. The attractive, all-modern program is bookended by the Poulenc and Debussy violin......

FRIDAY: >> Local comic book store Fantom Comics is celebrating the grand opening of their new Union Station store tonight with a party from 6 to 10:30 p.m. They'll be serving up free pizza on the early side and the comedy stylings of the Geek Comedy Tour during the second half of the night. There will also be a trivia contest with $500 gift certificates up for grabs. The party is inside the Union......

If you are looking for a musical way to celebrate Veterans Day, the Washington Chorus will perform its annual Tribute and Reflection concert this afternoon (November 11, 3 p.m.), in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall (tickets: $15 to $55). Their program includes Joseph Haydn's martial Mass in Time of War. Although there are not that many classical music concerts in the early part of the week, the schedule for next weekend is about as full......

Last week a little dose of relief came to the city's art lovers and critics, as the National Gallery of Art announced they've filled the position to head up their department of modern art, vacant for around six months now. Harry Cooper comes to the NGA from the Harvard University Art Museums, and Washington City Paper's Jeffry Cudlin does a good job putting it in perspective. In other museum news, camera-in-cell-phone technology is officially history.......

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Indie: Lake of Fire Michael Moore may have grabbed all the press where high profile documentaries are concerned, but it's Tony Kaye's Lake of Fire that is being quietly talked about as the most powerful documentary of the year. Which is remarkable considering its subject is one of the most talked about and analyzed issues on......

Last week, the National Gallery of Art opened a career retrospective of British landscape artist Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) -- the largest ever assembled in the United States. The curators of the show have assembled a collection that demonstrates Turner's development as an artist, as well as his commitment to raising the status of landscape art in a time when the classical themes pervaded Europe's artistic community. A must see for anyone with even......

Written by DCist Contributor Kate Mereand The scenes are always striking: women at night, mostly alone, and then buildings, mostly in daylight. Such is Edward Hopper’s art, finding voyeuristic fancy in two main types of subjects: ladies and places. The similarities he finds between the two are centered on the clear, stark contrast he favors in his style when painting most anything. You’ll recognize his work from the iconic painting, Nighthawks (pictured above-right). While that......

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Foreign: Stalker Revered in his prime as perhaps one of the best filmmakers Russia ever produced, Andrei Tarkovsky built his reputation on just seven feature films. As is so often the case, some of the most poignant art comes from those artists who must fight to bring their vision to an audience. Tarkovsky's films, often restless......

As always with the end of summer, there have been slim pickings in the art world, and most galleries are banking on you using Labor Day weekend for one final trek to sunny beaches. We scrounged up a few options for those of you sticking around town, which you may want to consider using as a warm-up for next week, when the fall art season opens with a bang. >> G Fine Art is warming......

This photo of a security guard at the National Gallery of Art comes to us from krisetya. The perspective in this photo is really nice, and I like how the guard is framed in the background light. I do question the wisdom of going into museums on an August weekend with such pleasant weather (including the rain--we really need it!), but it might be a good chance to get in when the crowds are......

You may have admired the sculpted heads of children by Desiderio da Settignano (c. 1429–1464) in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Washingtonians are lucky to have these pieces in their backyard, rare enough for a museum anywhere, and even luckier that the NGA is the only American venue for the first international exhibit devoted to this elusive artist, Desiderio da Settignano: Sculptor of Renaissance Florence. It draws together pieces from three major......

FRIDAY: >> Tired of putting those great costume ideas on the back burner till October? Dying for a chance to wear a costume without wearing a jacket over top? Three Stars vets New Rock Church of Fire feel the same way. Tonight, join NRCOF, D.C.'s The Gaskets and Richmond's The Invisibles at the Rock & Roll Hotel for July-O-Ween. Incognito fun, rip roaring rock from all three bands, DJ sets, drink specials, a costume contest......

It's summer and our beloved Arts Editor is away this week, so the agenda is a little on the short side. Here are a few things to see. >> We have written before about the Washington Project for the Arts\Corcoran's Experimental Media project. Starting this week, WPA\C is hosting a new show called SiteProjects DC. Curator Welmoed Laanstra has asked 15 local artists to create site-specific outdoor artwork, both installations and performances, through July 28,......

Summer is almost here, and that means it is almost time to roll up the carpets and send the Classical Music Agenda on vacation. So enjoy the music while you can. In particular, this is the last week to take in a performance of the best production from Washington National Opera this season, Janáček's Jenůfa. My review called this opera "essential viewing for anyone who cares about music drama." Performances remain only on Monday (May......

April has been an exhausting month for classical music listeners. Still, when that means staying out late to hear Evgeny Kissin play eight encores, you will not hear me complaining. Put your shoes back on, because there is more music to be heard. We start with the best events this week. >> By all accounts, Chinese-American pianist Chu-Fang Huang, winner of the 2005 Cleveland Piano Competition, is an exceptional talent at age 23. She is......

Things are a little slow this week in classical music, because of Easter and all that. There are still a few good things to be heard, but the list is shorter than normal. Besides, it's hard to tolerate being indoors when those trees are doing their whole pink thing. >> A concert we are going to have to miss is the most interesting of the week, a program by the 21st Century Consort called Games......

It's the Ides of March and there's not much to fear, D.C. As long as we don't step on any cracks (and therefore break mothers' backs) or allow black cats free reign, we might not jinx our chances for voting rights. Stay tuned for full DCist coverage on the debate/vote today. On a more personal note, for all those who succumbed to the irrational exuberance of sartorial selection this week, temperance is due; it's back......

If you are lucky enough to have the President's Day holiday off work and you manage to wake up before 5 p.m., it may be a good chance to go down to the National Mall and look at some art. The National Gallery of Art's new exhibit, Jasper Johns: An Allegory of Painting, 1955-1965, takes a focused look at four themes in the artist's work during an important decade in American art. Johns is one......

FRIDAY: >> This weekend is filled to the brim with events surrounding the 2007 Urban Film Series tour just in time for Black History Month. Dozens of short and feature-length films addressing the black experience are being screened at Regal Cinema Gallery Place, many with panel discussions following. There's a bevy of established and rising talent to see, but our pick for Friday has to be a conversation and book-signing with the Wizard's own center......