Sunday, August 10, 2008

Asian Art

The Freer-Sackler Galleries, a pair of musuems that are internally connected by a quirk of fate (and contract law.) Housing mostly Asian art or Asian-inspired art.

The Freer contains the largest collection of Whistler paintings (him of "Whistler's Mom" fame) including the Peacock Room he designed for Frederick Leyland. The latter is not to be missed. If there's only one thing you can do in DC, you should go see this room.

As for why there are two museums and not one, Mr. Freer decreed that neither his collection be broken up nor outside pieces dilute his collection so when Mr. Sackler donated his large collection, even though the Freer was the logical space for it, they decided to construct a second museum on the side, and hook them up. (For all practical purposes they are one museum.)

Also not to be missed is the entrance to the Sackler, a masterpiece of architecture, particularly when viewed from the bottom of the structure.

As for all that Asian art itself, you have to go see it to believe it. No amount of words can do it justice.

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