Release Date: October 17, 2013

Chef Michel Richard Creates Garden Café Français at the National Gallery of Art in Honor of Charles Marville: Photographer of Paris

Washington, DC—Inspired by Charles Marville: Photographer of Paris, award-winning Chef Michel Richard is transforming the menu of the Gallery's Garden Café with classic French dishes. Chef Richard is chef and owner of Central Michel Richard in Washington, DC. The exhibition is on view in the West Building through January 5, 2014.

The new Garden Café Français menu, available October 21, is presented in partnership with Restaurant Associates and Executive Chef Pierre Cummings at the National Gallery of Art.

Garden Café Français        

Chef Richard’s buffet ($20.75) incorporates a variety of traditional French dishes featuring hearty seasonal ingredients, including rustic baguette; a salad with Lola Rosa greens, toasted almonds, garlic croutons, and champagne vinaigrette; tomato quiche; duck confit with red beet potato puree; bouillabaisse; carrot ribbon salad; and rich chocolate mousse for dessert. Recipe cards for selected dishes are offered to guests free of charge.

White, red, and sparkling wines from French vineyards, as well as beer from France, complement the menu. Non-alcoholic beverage offerings include juice, soda, bottled water, coffee, espresso, and tea.

Garden Café Français is open Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 4:00 p.m. A preconcert menu of light fare, desserts, and beverages is offered from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Sundays to accommodate visitors who attend the free Sunday evening concerts in the West Garden Court. One of the most distinctive dining spots in the nation's capital, the Garden Café features a delightful 19th-century French marble sculpture after Jacopo Sansovino, Bacchus and a Faun, and a fountain with Herbert Adams' bronze Girl with Water Lilies (model 1928).

The Garden Café is located in the West Building near the entrance at 6th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. To make reservations for groups of eight or more, please contact the café manager at (202) 712-7454. For more information about the Gallery and its restaurants, visit www.nga.gov/dining.

History of Themed Garden Cafés at the National Gallery of Art

Themed Garden Cafés in the West Building began in 2004 during the early planning for the 2006 exhibition Cézanne in Provence, when the Gallery was approached by staff from The Chamber of Commerce of Marseilles, who offered to bring eight chefs to Washington, DC, as part of a larger effort to cross-promote the exhibition and the region of Provence that Paul Cézanne loved and celebrated in his art. In recent years, the dining scene in the nation’s capital has risen to such heights that the Gallery is able to invite local chefs with international reputations who have familiarity with the Gallery to transform the Garden Café menu thematically with selected major exhibitions.

Charles Marville: Photographer of Paris

National Gallery of Art, West Building

September 29, 2013–January 5, 2014

Best known for his photographs of Paris made during the city’s extensive transformations in the 1860s, the renowned French photographer Charles Marville worked in many genres, including portraiture, landscape, and architectural studies. This first retrospective exhibition in the United States dedicated to Marville features some 100 photographs covering the arc of his career, from romantic portraits and landscapes to compelling photographs of streets slated for imminent demolition and studies chronicling the emergence of modern Paris as the City of Light. The exhibition is accompanied by the first scholarly catalogue devoted to Marville.

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

The exhibition in Washington is made possible through the generous support of Leonard and Elaine Silverstein. Additional support is provided by The Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art.