Pre-Raphaelite Exhibit coming to Washington D.C.

First Major Exhibition on Pre-Raphaelite Art and Design in United States on View at National Gallery of Art, Washington
February 17–May 19, 2013

Can you feel my excitement?  I am beyond giddy and while I do not know yet when I’ll be able to make the trip to D.C., I can not wait to get there.

Thrilling side note:  A few people have purchased Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood T Shirts to wear to the exhibit.  Huzzah!  If you happen to take a picture during your trip, I will add it to the museum pics gallery if you email it to me.

National Gallery of Art Press Release:

Washington, DC— Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design, 1848–1900, the first major survey of the art of the Pre-Raphaelites to be shown in the United States, will be celebrated by the National Gallery of Art with an array of related activities, including a public symposium, lecture, teen studio, teacher workshop, concerts, and gallery talks, as well as a special British menu in the Garden Café, an electronic brochure, and a variety of gift offerings in the Gallery Shops.

All programs are free of charge in the East Building Auditorium unless otherwise noted. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Opening Day Lecture + Meet the Curators

Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde
Sunday, February 17, 2:00 p.m.

Tim Barringer, Paul Mellon Professor of the History of Art and director of graduate studies, Yale University; Jason Rosenfeld, distinguished chair and professor of art history, Marymount Manhattan College; and Diane Waggoner, associate curator, department of photographs, National Gallery of Art
A book signing of the exhibition catalogue follows, andthe curators of the show be in the galleries for a question-and-answer session.

Public Symposium

Pre-Raphaelitism and International Modernisms
Friday, March 8, noon–5:00 p.m.; Saturday, March 9, 1:00–5:00 p.m.

Illustrated lectures by noted scholars, including Scott Allan, associate curator of paintings, J. Paul Getty Museum; Linda Ferber, vice president and director of the museum division, New-York Historical Society; Cordula Grewe, independent scholar; Michael Hatt, professor of the history of art, University of Warwick; Elizabeth Helsinger, John Matthews Manly Distinguished Service Professor, departments of English, art history, and visual arts, University of Chicago; Morna O’Neill, assistant professor of 18th- and 19th-century European art, Wake Forest University; Linda Nochlin, Lila Acheson Wallace Professor of Modern Art, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University; and Andrea Wolk Rager, assistant professor of art history, Case Western Reserve

Teacher Workshop

The Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde
National Gallery of Art, East Building Concourse, Education Studio
Saturdays, March 2 and 16, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

In 1848 a group of English painters challenged the artistic status quo and turned for inspiration to Italian art dating before the time of the High Renaissance master Raphael. Drawing upon the past as well as modern English life, these artists developed distinctive styles and theories of art that would profoundly influence European and American modernism. This workshop is inspired by the exhibition Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design, 1848–1900, which includes more than 130 paintings, sculptures, photographs, and decorative art objects. Teaching strategies will emphasize the Pre-Raphaelites’ interests in literary and historical subject matter, the world of nature, and the exquisite craftsmanship of fine art and decorative household objects.
Fee: $10
Registration required; please visit www.nga.gov/education/teacher.shtm#register.

Teen Studio

Bookmaking
Saturday, February 16, 10:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
East Building Concourse, Education Studio

Delve into elegant and avant-garde art inspired by literature, philosophy, and history in the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition, and then learn a traditional bookbinding technique. Led by Sarah Diallo and Nathalie Ryan of the National Gallery of Art.
Online registration begins at noon on Wednesday, January 30; register atwww.nga.gov/programs/teens/#studio

Concerts

National Gallery of Art Vocal Ensemble
Music by Sullivan and other 19th-century English composers
Wednesday, April 10, 12:10 p.m.
West Building Lecture Hall

Sunday, April 14, 6:30 p.m.
West Building, West Garden Court

Both concerts include excerpts from Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera Patience,a satirical look at the aesthetic movement that swept England in the 1870s and 1880s.

Digital Brochure

The exhibition will be accompanied by an interactive digital brochure, which may be downloaded from www.nga.gov/preraphaelites. The brochure will feature some 30 illustrations, a recording of a 19th-century song, and short biographies of eight of the main figures in the Pre-Raphaelite Circle. The song composed by Sir John Stevenson, “Oft in the Stilly Night,” is based on a poem by Thomas Moore (1779–1852); the sheet music for it appears in the paintingThe Awakening Conscience (1853–1854) by William Holman Hunt. The recording features soprano Rosa Lamoreaux accompanied on the piano by Stephen Ackert, head of the music department, National Gallery of Art.

Gallery Shops

Inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites and the medieval world, artist William Morris established a flourishing decorative arts firm in 1861. The firm produced tiles, furniture, embroidery, stained glass, printed and woven textiles, carpets, and tapestries for both ecclesiastical and domestic interiors. A special shop will open on St. Valentine’s Day, and will feature Morris-inspired decorative arts, stationery, furniture reproductions, wallpapers, and textiles, including tapestries, as well as a selection of scholarly publications, children’s books, calendars, music CDs, the exhibition catalogue and poster, and merchandise featuring Morris’ oft-quoted “Love is enough.”

Garden Café Britannia

The award-winning Cathal Armstrong (chef and owner of Restaurant Eve in Old Town, Alexandria, and one of Food & Wine magazine’s 50 Hall of Fame Best New Chefs) has created a buffet and à la carte menu of signature British dishes for the National Gallery of Art. Continuing the Gallery’s popular themed menus inspired by exhibitions, Café Britannia will open in February 2013 in the West Building Garden Café. Chef Armstrong’s menu incorporates seasonal ingredients with classic British dishes, such as Cornish pasty and bubble and squeak.

Gallery Talks

Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design, 1848–1900
February 20–22, 26–28; March 11–13 at noon, staff lecturer Eric Denker
March 23, 24, April 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, and 23 at 1:00, staff lecturer David Gariff
March 27, 28, 29, April 2, and 3 at 2:00, staff lecturer Diane Arkin
West Building Rotunda, 60 mins.