The National Gallery of Art has a temporary exhibit of sketches and drawings by 17th century Dutch masters. Some of the drawings are paired with their final works on loan from museums around the world. The NGA has a small permanent selection and they included a fun digital overlay of visible and infrared photos that reveal underdrawings. It has probably been at least three years since we visited this museum so it was a nice quick diversion first thing in the morning.
Since this was going to be the very last day of balmy Indian summer weather for the year (70 degrees!) I requested an afternoon trip to the Dumbarton Oaks estate in Georgetown. After a quick lunch at a small diner we checked out a couple of antique stores and walked through the neighborhoods to our car which was parked by Dumbarton. The houses are still decorated very prettily with fall swag.
Purchased in the 1920s by a family of art patrons and collectors, the house serves as a research museum and library for Byzantine and pre-Columbian studies. The grounds are used for garden and landscape research. The house is undergoing renovations but we still enjoyed a lovely free tour of the formal gardens. Some of the roses were still in bloom but for the most part everything was in beautiful decay. Our timing for the day couldn't have been more perfect because by the time we were back in the car to make our way home the weather turned gray and blustery, ushering in a new season of cold temperatures that will probably be here until spring.
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