On Viewing American Art

American landscapes: I spot them two galleries away. I’m on the main floor of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It’s my second visit and I still haven’t made it through the West building. On my first visit, the Rodin and Degas sculptures captured me on the first floor. This time, I came to see what was described to me as, “The only Da Vinci in the United States.” I spend a few moments there.

But the American landscapes are what hook me. I glimpse them just after passing a marble statue of Justice, holding a sword in one hand and an olive vine in the other.

The American landscape paintings catch me every time. For one, they’re massive. But what lures me in is that the landscape painters loved everything that I love about America. Keep reading...