great time for a summer road trip to DC

Ahhh, summertime. It is the perfect time for a road trip. So how about DC as your destination? So much is happening, the major crowds are long gone and it's all free(your tax dollars at work). Here is a list of some of my faves.
1. Kiyochika, Master of the Night- Freer/Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian- free
The gallery displays master printmaker, Kobayashi Kiyochika beautiful woodblocks. Dawn, dusk and night are the focus of his woodblock prints.

2. An American in London, Whistler and the Thames, Freer /Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian -free What could be better than Whistler's amazing, nearly abstract, nocturnes of the river Thames? Maybe adding on his prints and sketches and watercolors that give you a view inside his thinking. Included also are some of the Japanese prints that influenced him. Wow!

3. Life keeps getting better with a exhibition of Degas and Cassatt, National Gallery of Art - Smithsonian, free! This exhibition demonstrates the affinity between both artists. A perfect friendship Degas and Cassatt, engaged in intense dialogues, challenged each other and  shared their many experiments with new techniques. The show includes sketches, paintings and prints.

4. Andrew Wyeth: Looking out, Looking in, National Gallery of Art- Smithsonian- free! Spare and elegant, these paintings are free of the narrative element associated with the artist’s better-known figural compositions. The abstract qualities of his work are therefore more readily apparent, and Wyeth emerges as an artist deeply concerned with the visual complexities posed by the transparency, symbolism, and geometric structure of windows.
5. And last in between exhibitions be sure to visit the Smithsonian's Folklife Festival- June 25-July 6. It's free as well and right on the mall smack between the Freer and the NGA. Art, performances, hands-on demonstrations and great ethnic food.