A Van Gogh update
 

If you're contemplating being in Washington D.C. between now and January and are interested in seeing the Van Gogh exhibit, herewith an update: <BR> <BR>1) The exhibit is everything it is cracked up to be. <BR> <BR>2) The National Gallery underestimated the number of people that the exhibit can hold, and has increased the number of same-day tickets from 2,000 to 2,800. <BR> <BR>3) To get a same-day ticket, the line starts roughtly at dawn for the 10:00 a.m. tickets (there are no reserved tickets for 10-11 a.m.); the day's allotment has generally been handed out by noon. <BR> <BR>4) Tickets for any date can also be had through ticket brokers (see washingtonpost.com's merchandise classified), but the asking price is $75-100 per ticket). <BR>

Neal, I've been trying to decide whether it's worth it to get up before dawn to see the exhibit, since I saw the paintings in Amsterdam. Once you are inside, is it very crowded? Can you see the paintings well, without throngs of people pushing you out of the way? <BR>

I will be there, standing in line. I want to see the paintings. Hope the weather will be cooperative. <BR>

I stood in line last Sat. for 3 hours and was able to go to the 10-10:30 showing. The first ones in line were there at 4 am. <BR> <BR>The exhibit was well worth the wait in line. The first two rooms were crowded coz there were several paintings in these rooms that had the audio tour markings. Plus, the some paintings were small, so people tended to crowd around them. But the paintings got bigger and more spaced out towards the other rooms. <BR> <BR>I would highly recommend getting the audio tour. Unless you know a lot about Van Gogh or have read all the articles on the Wash. Post about the exhibit/artist. <BR> <BR>There is a Starbucks 2 blocks from the museum, so getting up early to stand in line isn't so bad. <BR>

Three vignettes from our visit this past weekend: <BR>* The couple in front of us were from Connecticut, had left their home at 2 a.m., arrived in DC at 6 a.m., found a sizeable line already in place, but got tickets for noon. <BR>* The couple in front of them were staying at the ANA Hotel in DC and had procured tickets through their concierge. No price volunteered. <BR>* There was a family behind us with six tickets, but only five members were able to make it. They were wondering what to do with the extra ticket. A woman (who later told us she had driven three hours to get to the Gallery) was going down the line of people waiting for noon entry, asking if anyone had an extra ticket. She got the family's extra pass. I advised her to extend her lucky streak by buying a lottery ticket. <BR> <BR>Incidentally, the ticket desk said all same-day passes were distributed by 10:30 a.m. As J notes above, the show is not crowded except for the first room (of ten or eleven) where there is lots of text. It took nearly two hours to see it well. <BR>