Travel: Three museums that are hidden gems in Washington, D.C.
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A trip to the nation's capital can be especially gratifying for lovers of art, architecture and style. Not to mention nature.
In 1791, George Washington commissioned Pierre Charles L’Enfant to design the new federal district on the shores of the Potomac River. L'Enfant's urban designs have stood the test of time. Rock Creek Park, a 1,754-acre refuge, threads through the heart the city. It is surrounded by lush tree-lined streets and boulevards that are home to grand estates and stately mansions, as well as beautiful government buildings.
Here are several hidden gems in the city, bequeathed to the public by citizens, that are well worth visiting.
The Hillwood Museum
Marjorie Merriweather Post perfected the art of living well. She wintered at Mar-a-Lago and summers were spent in New York at Camp Topridge, her 30-building Adirondack Mountain retreat. In spring and fall, she was at Hillwood, her vast estate in Washington, D.C.
Post, like a handful of her contemporaries, went to D.C. as a student and discovered a vibrant, 10-square-mile city, where politics, diplomacy and culture blend.
The heiress purchased Hillwood in 1955. The mansion sits on 25 acres of landscaped gardens and natural woodlands.
She was an avid, knowledgeable collector, endowing the country with the most comprehensive collection of Russian Imperial art outside of Russia, as well as a distinguished collection of French decorative art from the 1700s.
Visiting the house is like stepping back in time. If Post were to return today, she would find the house ready for her:
The orchid-filled breakfast room is always set for four.
The dining room is a showcase for the magnificent dining table, which was originally designed for Mar-a-Lago by Joseph Urban. It bears 12 place settings from her extensive porcelain, linens, glassware and silver collections, complete with fresh flowers. The tableau is changed several times a year.
Post's bedroom suite is furnished with French furniture and fabrics, and the closets contain an array of fashions that are rotated for display throughout the year.
Also of note at the museum is a special exhibit in the Adirondack Building, "Grace of Monaco: Princess in Dior," which will continue until Jan. 8.
The Palm Beach Friends of Hillwood event will take place on Feb. 21 and 22. It celebrates Hillwood’s newest publication, "The Houses and Collection of Marjorie Merriweather Post: The Joy of it."
Dumbarton Oaks
Dumbarton Oaks is located on the other side of Rock Creek Park in Georgetown. It was the home of Robert Woods Bliss and Mildred Barnes Bliss. In 1940, they donated the house and galleries, service buildings and 16 acres to Harvard University to be used as a research facility.
During their life together, the Blisses were avid collectors of Byzantine and pre-Columbian art. The Byzantine collection features 17,000 seals, jewelry, plaques, mosaic icons, illuminated manuscripts and paintings.
The pre-Columbian gallery was designed by Philip Johnson and completed in 1983. It is made up of eight cylindrical glass rooms. As foliage of the surrounding gardens changes with the seasons, the works of art blend with nature.
Currently a special exhibition, "A Beautiful Dichotomy: Contrasting Pre-Columbian Peruvian Ceramics," is on display. These works highlight 4,000 years of earthenware vessels.
A visit to Dumbarton would not be complete without a tour of the gardens, currently celebrating their centennial year. Designed by Mildred Bliss and Beatrix Farrand, the garden rooms, grounds, paths and walkways contribute to the “home of the humanities” that the Blisses envisioned and built.
Kreeger Museum
In 1963, Philip Johnson and Richard Foster designed a lyrical travertine-clad building to house David and Carmen Kreeger’s art collection. It sits on five acres of gardens and terraces that are a backdrop for major works of sculpture.
From 1959 to 1974, the couple amassed important pieces of modern art. They focused on 19th- and 20th-century paintings, including works by Monet, Picasso, Braque, Stella, Mitchell and Frankenthaler.
The collection also is a showcase for the Washington Color Painter’s school, with works by William Christenberry, Gene Davis, Sam Gilliam, Simmie Knox and Paul Reed.
It is an interactive venue with concerts, exhibitions, jazz fests, yoga in the garden and lectures.
If you go
HILLWOOD MUSEUM
Location: 4155 Linnean Ave., N.W.
Hours:10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Mondays, most holiday and for several weeks in January.
Admission: Suggested donation of $18; $15 seniors
Info: hillwoodmuseum.org, 202-686-5807
DUMBARTON OAKS
Location: 1703 32nd Street, N.W.
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, except federal holidays
Admission: Complimentary
Info: www.doaks.org, 202 339-6400
KREEGER MUSEUM
Location: 2401 Foxhall Road, N.W.
Hours: 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Admission: $10; $8 students/seniors/military
Info: www.kreegermuseum.org
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Marjorie Post's Hillwood among museums worth visiting in Washington, D.C.
