NEXT @ Corcoran

The Corcoran (Photo: APK is gonna miss Jeffpw/WikiCommons)

Washington's Corcoran Gallery of Art is now showcasing through May 20 fresh young talent via NEXT at the Corcoran, which presents works from the Corcoran College of Art + Design class of 2012.

"For more than 120 years, the Corcoran has educated and trained students—the next generation of America’s artists—while displaying the most important works of the time," the museum states on its website.

Admission to the NEXT exhibition is free of charge.

Artini @ Corcoran Gallery of Art

This MARCH 31 event someone invited me to on Facebook sounds really cool.

Just add some martinis made by some pros inside the CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART et voila / and presto - you've got ARTINI!

You will also find this event HERE on FACEBOOK.

Grasshopper Cocktail (c) TexasDex/Wikimedia Commons

"Inspired by works in the Corcoran collection, 12 of the city’s best mixologists will compete to create the most artistic martini," the museum - which houses an extensive collection of  18th, 19th, and 20th-century American art - states on its Web site.

This annual spring art event is sponsored by the 1869 SOCIETY, a group of young professionals/art patrons ages 25 to 42.

But you don't need to be a member of this illustrious young crowd to attend an Artini event.

So if you find yourself loving art, loving the Corcoran, and wanting to network with other art lovers, then you just might wanna check out the 1869 Society!

Or, especially if your birthdate precludes you from joining those young whippersnapper 1869'ers, you could just become a regular Corcoran member.

Either way, Artini seems like a brilliant concept and a really good time ...


ARTINI at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design from Corcoran Gallery of Art on Vimeo.

Civil War Photos @ Corcoran Gallery of Art

The Civil War (1861-1865) tore a deep gash through our at the time still fledgling nation from which some historians have argued it has never quite fully recovered.

This was one of the first major armed conflicts ever to be documented by photography.

On its 150th anniversary, the CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART is showcasing how the war was chronicled by early American photographers via the collection of one woman now on show there:

 SHADOWS OF HISTORY: PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE CIVIL WAR FROM THE COLLECITON OF JULIA J. NORRELL

A welcome addition to the usual shots of stony-faced, mustachioed generals arranged before encampments or grim scenes of bodies strewn across fields are images of African Americans who risked their lives to fight for freedom from slavery:

"A special emphasis of the collection is rare imagery of African American regiments and their underappreciated role in the war. In addition, to strengthen the presentation of the role of African Americans in the Civil War, a major tableau by Whitfield Lovell is included. It features a life-size portrait of an African American soldier."

This exhibit opened on Febrary 4 and runs through MAY 20 at the Corcoran.

Black and white soldiers during the American Civil War. (c) Wikimedia Commons