Washington DC Page 2
July 2012
On day 2, Wednesday, we went to Dupont Circle. Back many years ago (in 1978) Paul lived in DC for one college session, and it was near here. So we went to find his old abode. It is now a hotel, rather than short-term apartments, but still looks similar to what it did then.
We then went to The Phillips Collection.
This is one of those medium (?) sized private museums. The collection is large enough (~3000 works) that they are rotated. They are particularly noted for their collection of impressionist paintings, as well as support for 20th century art. The most famous piece there is certainly Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party.
A few other items in the collection, either permanent or special exhibit, that struck us were:
- Morris Graves, with his paintings Wounded Gull and Young Pine Forest in Bloom.
- Jacob Lawrence, The Migration Series. This is a series on the movement of African Americans from the South to industrial areas of the North in the early 1900s. The large series is split between Phillips and the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. The story is moving, and the telling is done in clean but descriptive images. Two examples: Panel 49 is about the discrimination they encountered in the North. Panel 55 addressed the high death rate caused by poor living conditions and unsafe factory practices.
- Eugène Delacroix, portrait of Paganini. If you are familiar with the stories of Paganini, the famed violinist, you will know that he cultivated a mystic, and was rumoured by some to be in a pact with the devil to allow his virtuosic playing. The lighting used in this portrait portrays his mystery.
- Tobi Kahn, Lyje, a work from 1991 and only acquired a year ago.
- El Greco, The Repentant St. Peter: we loved this and the Goya version, both tucked in to a corner of the 'Music Room'. These two paintings are from a much earlier time than the majority of the collection. El Greco's style was very dramatic for his time, and as wikipedia says "El Greco is regarded as a precursor of both Expressionism and Cubism...."
We could mention many other works there. This museum is definitely worth a visit.
After leaving The Phillips Collection we took the Metro down to Union Station and visited the Postal Museum. This is one of the Smithsonians, but since it is not on the Mall it is much less known. This also means that it is quieter! We enjoyed this museum, particularly since Paul's father was a mail carrier. They had some impressive models of how mail used to be carried.
I found the A to Z facts very interesting. Did you know that at one point people would cut a stamp in half in order to adjust the postage amount? If you needed a 5 cent stamp, you could cut a 10-cent in two pieces.
Of course, there was information on the Pony Express, and other historical information on mail delivery. There is a very large collection of stamps from around the world. You can even try your hand at sorting mail. Ben was again seen standing tall.
We had actually gone down to Union Station in order to stop at The Dubliner, an Irish pub. Back when Paul did his internship, his office was across the street from here. He would meet other interns at this little pub. It was popular with people of all ages, and had a small (very small) stage for entertainers. Paul says it looks much the same today as it did then, although the stage might have been moved. It was only a few years old back then; the pub is celebrating it's 37th year now.
After having had a Guiness there, we walked around the Capital, and viewed the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. It was too late at this point to go in to any of the buildings, but it is still a lovely walk. Keep in mind that we had been inside in the air conditioning all day; I was actually slightly chilled. However, after perhaps a half hour of walking around I was already overheating. And this was after 5 PM!
The fountain in front of the Library of Congress depicts Neptune's court.
Updated April 2026