Article

Your Guide to Summer at the National Gallery

4 min read

Summertime deserves moments for art, reflection, music . . . and air-conditioning.

Whether you’re soaking up the sun or escaping the heat, follow our tips for your best, most art-filled summer.

1. Explore the Sculpture Garden during special late hours.

Visitors sit in the Sculpture Garden in front of Tony Smith's Wandering Rocks.
 

Our Sculpture Garden is an oasis in the heart of the city with lush plantings, a refreshing fountain, and monumental sculptures. And it’s staying open late this summer! From June 3 to September 5, join us until 8:00 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday (except during Jazz in the Garden events). Pack a picnic or pick up something from the Pavilion Café; they’re even offering a happy hour from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Want an expert guide? We offer free guided tours Friday through Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Take a stroll and explore artworks by Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, and more.

2. Listen (and dance) to “American Sounds” at Jazz in the Garden.

Visitors enjoying Jazz in the Garden along the Sculpture Garden's fountain.

DC’s favorite outdoor summer concert series, Jazz in the Garden, returns this year with a nod to the nation’s 250th anniversary. For this season’s “American Sounds” theme, concerts explore our nation’s many musical traditions, from Appalachian and Americana to Creole jazz, Hill Country blues, contemporary jazz, and more.

Join us in the Sculpture Garden on Fridays at 6:00 p.m. from May 22 through August 14 (except June 5 and July 3). Just remember to join the lottery for registration; it takes place the week before each event, opening on Monday at 10:00 a.m. and closing Friday at noon.

Want to learn how to move to the tunes? We’re offering special pre-show dance classes on May 22 and 29, June 12, and July 24.

3. Commemorate 250 years of the United States at our biggest party ever.

Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art Archives.

On June 6 we’ll host a campus-wide Block Party celebrating American art and creativity. The daylong event will feature something for all ages: artmaking, musical performances, behind-the-scenes art talks, film screenings, face-painting, and much, much more. See the full schedule here.

RSVP to get updates and let us know you’re coming.

4. Experience 250 years of American creativity.

A visitor in the West Building's American galleries in front of Frederic Edwin Church's El Rio de Luz (The River of Light).

Our celebrations of the nation’s 250th birthday don’t stop after June 6. This year we’re exploring American creativity from across the nation through special exhibitions and installations, including a fresh take on our reinstalled American galleries.

Opening June 6, American Icon: The US Flag in Art shows how artists have transformed Old Glory over the centuries. Through some 30 artworks, see how the Stars and Stripes have inspired pride, protest, and profound artistic expression.

5. Discover something new in our special exhibitions.

Chakaia Booker, It's So Hard to Be Green, 2000, rubber tires and wood, Courtesy Artist Chakaia Booker & David Nolan Gallery. Image by Peter Vanderwarker. © Chakaia Booker

Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art Archives.

We have a full slate of exhibitions for you to explore this summer. Enjoy rarely-seen treasures and iconic works by Mary Cassatt, learn how the layered histories and meanings of Niagara Falls have evolved over time, or explore photographs of the people and places that power our lives.

And don’t miss your last chance to catch three awe-inspiring sculptures by Chakaia Booker before Treading New Ground closes on August 2. The American artist transforms tires in ways you could never imagine.

6. Savor the flavors of summer.

After enjoying all that art, you deserve a treat! Cool off in the Garden Café with a refreshing cherry blossom spritzer. If handcrafted gelato is your thing, indulge with a special Stars and Stripes gelato flavor at the Espresso & Gelato Bar. Plan your breaks across our five unique dining experiences. 

7. Unleash your creativity at our family-friendly First Saturdays.

Activities and air-conditioning: we’ve got you covered at First Saturdays. On the first Saturday of every month, visit us for a day of artmaking, film screenings, and pop-up experiences.

Each month features a kids’ play space, Storytime, face painting, and children’s yoga, plus a changing variety of hands-on activities and fun for all ages.

8. Keep kids busy at home—or wherever you are—with a new Roblox game and DIY art activities.

Color Catch by National Gallery of Art cover art.

Keeping kids entertained during summer break is hard. We hope our new game on Roblox, Color Catch, can help. Dash through virtual worlds inspired by our artworks and museum in this interactive game of chase.

Or get creative with DIY craft videos inspired by our collection. Make a mosaic inspired by Alma Thomas’s paintings, paper flowers modeled after Berthe Morisot’s still lifes, or a tie-dye impression of Claude Monet’s The Japanese Footbridge.

9. Cultivate awe with a nature walk.

A small child stands facing us on a sun-dappled path that runs up the center of a garden dominated by towering yellow and burnt-orange sunflowers in this loosely painted, vertical scene. The light comes from our right so long, sea-green and plum-purple shadows cross the peach-colored path. The path is wide at the bottom center of the canvas and narrows as it reaches the steps of a house, beyond the garden. Close to us, four blue and white porcelain urns line the path, separating it from the grassy banks to either side. The urns are filled with tall stems with coral-pink and cardinal-red flowers. The child stands about halfway back along the path, where the garden transitions from grass to the banks of tall sunflowers. A few strokes in front of the child could be a small dog. Behind the child, a woman and another child stand on the steps. The woman wears a cornflower-blue and white dress, while both children have bare legs and wear white clothes and yellow hats. All three have indistinct facial features and peach-colored skin. The house spans with width of the composition. It has an amethyst-purple roofline with two chimneys, and the petal-pink walls have mango-yellow highlights. Windows are covered with blue latticework. Above the house, fluffy white clouds float against a vibrant blue sky. The artist signed and dated the painting at the lower right in dark blue, “Claude Monet 80.”
Claude Monet, The Artist's Garden at Vétheuil, 1881, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.45

Feeling awe decreases stress and improves our lives. Museums offer opportunities to find awe, and nature does, too. So take a nature walk! It’s one of our ten tips for finding awe in your everyday life. You only need 15 minutes. Go somewhere in nature—a yard, park, greenspace, or area with views of sky or water. Turn off your phone.

Move slowly and gently. Tap into your childlike sense of wonder. Activate all your senses, and try to see things with fresh eyes. Observe human connectedness. Consider vastness. Notice what thoughts and feelings enter your mind.

As you scan your surroundings, what captivates you?

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