Photo © Ezra Stoller/Esto

West Building of the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
John Russell Pope

Modern Masterpiece on the Mall
It’s not easy being Modern on the National Mall, especially next to John Russell Pope’s 1941 West Building of the National Gallery of Art—considered by I.M. Pei to be an exemplar of Neoclassicism. Transforming its proportions and materials into a contemporary idiom for an expansion was a stunning achievement for Pei and a gift to Washington and the nation. Ada Louise Huxtable cried “elitist” when the East Building opened, but she got it wrong. It’s our capital city’s Modern masterpiece—as powerful an achievement of the 20th century as the artwork it celebrates. In the 26 years since President Jimmy Carter dedicated it, the East Building has thrived as an art museum while growing into eminence as an elegant, refined example of Modernism. The dual triangles, nestled within the trapezoidal site, remain programmatically intact—one for exhibitions, one for administration and research—and, unlike critics initially feared, the gallery spaces have proved highly flexible, says Victoria Newhouse, author of the forthcoming Art/Power/Placement (Monacelli Press). The airy atrium (“one of the most resplendent rooms of all time,” record noted in 1978) enjoys instant recognition, with its tetrahedron skylights that echo the geometry of the architecture, as well as Alexander Calder’s colorful mobile spinning slowly overhead. Sometimes a blemish connotes reverence. The permanent ring of discoloration surrounding Pei’s name on a marble wall in the atrium owes its existence to the millions of visitors who have touched the inscription, says the NGA’s director, Earl A. Powell III. The tinged stone makes explicit how indelibly Pei’s identity is entwined with this well-loved project.
– Deborah Snoonian, P.E.

2004 Honor Awards index | Architecture Awards | Interiors Awards
Urban Design | 25 Year Award | Firm Award | Gold Medal Award