Take a Virtual Field Trip to the National Gallery of Art
It’s the National Gallery’s birthday — and a virtual visit can start some awesome conversations about art in your secular homeschool.
March is the birthday of the National Gallery of Art, which was established March 17, 1941. Its mission was to make a broad swathe of art — from medieval altarpieces to abstract expressionism — accessible to all U.S. citizens, which is why it’s never charged an admission fee. The museum, which opened during World War Two, when cultural institutions in Europe were shutting down, represented both hope for the future and the importance of arts and culture, said then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who thought that art should be for the people, not just the elite who could afford to purchase it — which is why it’s appropriate that you can check out some of the highlights of its collection from the comfort of your own home.
Ginevra de Benci by Leonardo da Vinci
Da Vinci’s painting of the Italian woman poet is his only work permanently on display in the western hemisphere, and Ginevra’s expression is as inscrutable as the Mona Lisa’s.
Little Dancer by Degas
The only sculpture Degas ever put up for exhibition was almost universally scorned during its 1881 showing, but the ballerina statue has become one of the most famous in the world — and the original (complete with human hair in her braid) is at the National Gallery.
The East Wing by Alexander Calder
The East Wing of the National Gallery has the largest collection of the sculptor’s work, but the big draw — literally — is the unnamed sculpture in the entry. Calder didn’t believe in “naming the baby” until it was born, and since he died before this last — and largest — work was installed, it never received a name.
Hahn/Cock by Katharina Fritsch
The star of the rooftop, this giant electric blue rooster turns conventional art on its head: “I, a woman, am depicting something male. Historically it has always been the other way around,” says Fristch.
Into Bondage by Aaron Douglas
An unflinching depiction of the Atlantic slave trade and its impact on African-American life, Douglas’s painting is one of the masterworks of the Harlem Renaissance.
