Press Event: The Darker Side of Light: Arts of Privacy, 1850-1900

Description

The private worlds of late 19th-century Paris, London, and Berlin are reflected in some 120 beguiling, often enigmatic prints, drawings, illustrated books, and small sculptures in ‘The Darker Side of Light: Arts of Privacy, 1850?1900.’ On view at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in the West Building, from October 1, 2009, through January 18, 2010, the exhibition reveals a late romantic sensibility, an art for collectors who kept their prints and drawings under wraps, compiled in albums and portfolios; who stored bronze medals in cabinets; or set a statuette on a table in the stillness of the library.