2 Miles to da Vinci Painting, 1 Mile to Kayak Dock

Reminders about the joys of living in D.C.’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, even during tough times for U.S. cities

Da Vinci, Ginevra de’ Benci c. 1474/1478. National Gallery of Art, open access image.
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund. Courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington

This is my version of NBA-style trash talk. I use it when I take people with connections to my native New York City to visit the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

“It’s nice that the Metropolitan Museum of Art owns some drawings by Leonardo da Vinci. There’s that sketch of a beautiful face, and that one called a bear walking. Very cute. Who doesn’t like a nice animal drawing? Too bad the Met’s website says neither of these is on display now.”

da Vinci, Leonardo (“The Head of the Virgin in Three-Quarter View Facing Right,c. 1510–3. Right, A Bear Walking, c. 1482–85. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Museum photos of images in public domain.

“Know where an amazing work by da Vinci is on permanent display — and you can see it for free? The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.”

There are only about 18 oil paintings in the world that are widely accepted as being Da Vinci’s work. And only one of them is on display in the Americas.

It’s the portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci , which the National Gallery of Art acquired in 1967.