Release Date: April 20, 2012

National Gallery of Art Will Extend Hours for Exhibition of Itō Jakuchū's Colorful Realm of Living Beings During Final Weekend, April 27-29, 2012

Visitors enjoying Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Itō Jakachū on opening day at the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Photograph by D. Ziska © National Gallery of Art, Washington

Visitors enjoying Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Itō Jakachū on opening day at the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Photograph by D. Ziska © National Gallery of Art, Washington (order this press image)

Washington, DC―Due to its exceptional popularity, the landmark exhibition Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Itō Jakuchū at the National Gallery of Art will remain open until 8:00 p.m. during its last weekend, April 27, 28, and 29. The adjacent shop and the Garden Café will also remain open until 8:00 p.m.; the café will seat until 7:30 p.m. and serve the á la carte menu. After 5:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and after 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, all visitors must enter at the Sixth and Constitution Avenue NW entrance of the West Building.

Since it opened to the public on March 30, the show has attracted an average of nearly 7,100 visitors per day. This places it in the top ten exhibitions for daily average attendance, rivaling such renowned Gallery exhibitions as Treasures of Tutenkhamun in 1976 and The Art of Paul Gauguin in 1988, which had average daily attendance figures of approximately 7,100 and 6,500, respectively. As of April 19, the exhibition has been seen by a total of 172,000 people.

The Gallery, which is open free of charge, will not issue passes, but will organize lines when necessary to enable visitors to have a comfortable experience while viewing the Japanese masterpieces.

The Gallery normally closes at 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and 6:00 p.m. on Sundays.

To learn more about the exhibition, visit: http://www.nga.gov/press/exh/3234/index.shtm.

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, The Imperial Household Agency, and Nikkei Inc., in association with the Embassy of Japan.

The exhibition has been made possible through the generous support of Toyota, Nikkei Inc., Airbus, the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and The Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art. Additional sponsorship from Japan has been provided by Daikin Industries, Ltd., Ito En, Ltd., Mitsubishi Corporation, and Panasonic Corporation. Additional support has been provided by the Asian Cultural Council.

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.