Interior Changes at the National Gallery East Building

Exciting new changes happening in DC this fall! The National Gallery of Art’s East Building reopened on September 30th after nearly 3 years of renovations. The newly refurbished museum now features a roof terrace and two new interior tower galleries, adding up to over 12,250 square feet of extra space for exhibitions and visitors.

 

The renovations started out as making simple repairs to the 1978 I.M. Pei-designed Building’s galleries, costing $38.4 million. The museum then decided to channel an additional $30 million from private donations to expand its exhibition spaces and create new elevators and stairwells to connect spaces together. Concept architect, adviser, and former Pei associate, Perry Chin aimed to bring in more fluidity and create an open plan that complements the geometrical structures of Pei’s original design.

 

One of the galleries will feature a selection of paintings by Mark Rothko, while the other will exhibit works by Alexander Calder. Katharina Fritsch’s “Hahn/Cock” has already marked its territory on the terrace overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue. This 15-foot electric blue cock sculpture will anchor a new outdoor sculpture garden, an additional space completing the East Building of the National Gallery of Art.