Hanging Out In The National Gallery

There's hardly anyplace here that's more wonderful at certain times of day than the National Gallery, East Building.  I went there earlier this week to see the extraordinary Robert and Jane Meyerhoff collection on display now.  The entire 300-piece collection of American and European abstract expressionism and other modern art is a massive gift to the National Gallery of Art by Robert Meyerhoff, a Baltimore real estate developer, and his late wife, Jane.

Harry Cooper, the curator of this astonishing exhibition, which includes about half of the collection, has grouped the artworks according to 10 categories or themes, including "scrape," "drip," "line," and "gesture." It's like going to hear a musical program comprising concertos in, say, E flat major for different instruments and by different composers. You can't say you've experienced art by Jasper Johns or Frank Stella until you've seen it mounted together like this.

After 45 minutes, I found it, as usual, overwhelming and had to leave.  I can only take so much of this intense rearrangement of my senses at one time. The exit of the mezzanine gallery looked out on the glorious, peaceful scene above.