National Gallery of Art, East Building

National Gallery of Art, East Building Review

The East Building opened in 1978 in response to the changing needs of the National Gallery, especially its growing collection of modern art. The trapezoidal shape of the site prompted architect I.M. Pei's dramatic approach: two interlocking spaces shaped like triangles provide room for galleries, auditoriums, and administrative offices. Despite its severe angularity, Pei's building is inviting. The ax-blade-like southwest corner has been darkened and polished smooth by thousands of hands irresistibly drawn to it. Inside, the sunlit atrium is dominated by a colorful 76-foot-long Alexander Calder mobile, the perfect introduction to galleries filled with masterworks of modern and contemporary art.

Highlights

Masterpieces from every famous name in 20th-century art—Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Piet Mondrian, Roy Lichtenstein, Joan Miró, Georgia O'Keeffe, and dozens of others—fill the galleries.

The bold shapes and brilliant teals and fuschias of Henri Matisse's giant paper cutouts make them among the most innovative, important, and purely enjoyable works of modern art. The National Gallery's collection of these is considered the world's greatest; entering the Matisse Room full of colorful floor-to-ceiling works is a delight.

Huge, color-drenched Mark Rothko works are a perennial favorite—the gallery owns more than 1,000 paintings by the iconic American modernist.

World-class temporary exhibitions are a big draw. Recent years have seen the collected works of Paul Cézanne, Edward Hopper, Cy Twombly, Jasper Johns, Pablo Picasso, Willem de Kooning, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

Tips

To reach the East Building from the West Building, you can take the underground concourse, lined with gift shops, a café, and a cafeteria, but to best appreciate the building's sleek and celebrated architecture, enter from outside rather than underground: exit the West Building through its eastern doors and cross 4th Street. To protect the pigments and paper of the Matisse cutouts, the works are on view only between 10 and 2 Monday through Saturday and 11 to 3 on Sunday.Free docent-led tours leave from the information desk weekdays at 11:30 and 1:30, and weekends at 11:30 and 3:30. Pick up the cheat-sheet "What to See in An Hour": it pinpoints 15 highlights of the East Building.