Washington DC stands as America's premier destination for experiencing world-class art without spending a single dollar, according to Financial Times US art critic Ariella Budick. In a comprehensive guide through the nation's capital, Budick presents her personal selection of ten extraordinary artworks and cultural spaces that showcase the city's unparalleled concentration of artistic treasures, all freely accessible to the public.
The enduring miracle of Washington DC lies in its remarkable density of art collections housed within the Smithsonian's extensive network of museums and other prestigious institutions. Despite shifting political atmospheres and occasional controversies surrounding the Smithsonian's independence, the capital maintains its promise of truly democratic American culture through these government-owned collections that welcome visitors at no cost.
Budick's cultural scavenger hunt begins at the National Gallery of Art, where Jan van Eyck's masterpiece "The Annunciation" (1434-36) captures visitors with its concentrated splendor. The small Renaissance painting depicts the Virgin Mary being startled from her reading, yanking her hands from stiff parchment pages as if burned by the words, while a fashionable angel delivers the divine message. The material pleasures of the supernatural scene - jewels, rainbow wings, and embossed velvet robes - ground the religious drama in tangible beauty.
The Phillips Collection, located away from the National Mall in a residential townhouse near Dupont Circle, houses Pierre Bonnard's "The Open Window" (1921). This intimate museum, born from collector Duncan Phillips's private passion, showcases 15 Bonnard paintings that demonstrate the artist's ability to infuse rooms with human feeling through color and light. The painting captures a summer afternoon's warmth through shimmering trees and sunlit walls, while lilac shadows hint at deeper emotional currents.
Venturing to suburban Maryland, Glenstone Museum in Potomac offers a striking contrast with its 300-acre estate featuring concrete pavilions designed to integrate art with landscape. Andy Goldsworthy's "Clay Houses" (2007) consists of three mysterious cottages hidden among trees along the Woodland Trail. One contains a giant clay boulder that seems ready to burst from its casing, another features circular terraces receding like a stepwell, while the third presents an enigmatic empty room that invites contemplation.
The National Museum of Asian Art showcases James McNeill Whistler's famous Peacock Room (1876-77), a testament to both artistic genius and personal conflict. This flamboyantly decorated dining room, originally created for London shipping magnate F.R. Leyland, resulted from Whistler's tendency to antagonize patrons and abandon friendships. The gold-and-blue aviary eventually found its permanent home at the Smithsonian via Detroit, where visitors can immerse themselves in its decorative magnificence.
The Renwick Gallery currently features an unexpected delight: a life-sized cow made entirely of butter, part of the "State Fairs: Growing American Craft" exhibition. This whimsical display, housed in an extravagantly French-style mansion across from the White House, exemplifies the Smithsonian's craft museum approach to celebrating both serious artistry and playful creativity.
Returning to the National Gallery of Art's East Building, Jackson Pollock's "Number 1 1950 (Lavender Mist)" represents a pivotal moment in American art history. Created during Pollock's brief creative peak, the painting bears the physical traces of the artist's intense presence, including spectral handprints in the upper corners. Hans Namuth's 1950 photographs of Pollock creating this work helped cement the artist's fame just as his personal decline began.
The Smithsonian American Art Museum celebrates Alma Thomas, whose vibrant, cosmic canvases offer lessons in purposeful joy. Thomas, who fled the Jim Crow South for Washington in 1907, taught middle school for 35 years before launching her painting career despite arthritis and failing eyesight. Her four color paintings (1970-1976) demonstrate how physical constraints paradoxically freed her artistic expression, making her the first Black woman to have a solo Whitney Museum exhibition in 1972.
Architectural enthusiasts will appreciate the Hirshhorn Museum itself - Gordon Bunshaft's brutalist "concrete bagel" that appears to levitate on the National Mall. This cylindrical structure houses the collection of mining tycoon Joseph Hirshhorn, who donated 6,000 modern artworks to the federal government in 1966 and doubled that number by his death in 1981. The museum currently features exhibitions pairing Basquiat with Banksy alongside painter Adam Pendleton's solo show.
The Kreeger Museum, situated in Northwest Washington's suburban tranquility, offers refuge from downtown's political tensions while housing turbulent artistic imaginations. Piet Mondrian's "Dying Sunflower" (1908) startles visitors with its vivid decay - far removed from the artist's famous geometric grids. The wilted bloom's expressively drooping glory demonstrates Mondrian's early fascination with natural deterioration.
Budick's final selection honors the National Museum of African American History and Culture, where Marian Anderson's mid-20th century bronze satin concert gown serves as both garment and historical artifact. This ceremonial armor carried the weight of the nation's racial obsessions whenever the great contralto appeared on stage, while symbolizing her groundbreaking 1955 Metropolitan Opera debut as the first Black singer in a major role.
This curated journey through Washington's artistic landscape demonstrates how concentrated excellence in museum collections can make democratic culture truly accessible. From Renaissance masterpieces to contemporary installations, the capital's free institutions offer endless opportunities for cultural enrichment, making it possible for visitors to experience centuries of artistic achievement in a single, energetic morning on the National Mall.
