Museum Hack: Un-Highlights Tour of the National Gallery Of Art

A great way to cap off our week in DC! The Nat'l Gallery of Art is a dauntingly large place, with mostly European art. My teenager was not thrilled at the prospect of spending 2 hours there. But our tour guide Caroline was speedy and informative, and she kept everyone engaged... there literally was no time for eyes to glaze over or roll. We loved the re-creation activities, and the opportunity to nominate characters in artworks for various superlative awards (best legs, cutest couple, etc.). It helps too that I won a prize for my creative response. It was a terrific way to really enjoy the museum in a new way!

I scheduled the Un-Highlights tour at the National Gallery of Art in Washington as a birthday gift for my wife (a PhD candidate in History). Neither one of us have more than a pedestrian knowledge of art or the art world. Simply put, this tour blew us both away. Erich, our tour guide, texted us well ahead of the start time to arrange our meeting point. Once we met up, there were some quick introductions and ice breakers and the tour was on its way. Erich led us from gallery to gallery, stopping to discuss both the history behind the subjects of some of the paintings, as well as the story behind how some of the art came to be in possession of the gallery. The tour was interactive, with games and activities that were a total hoot. The amount of knowledge Erich was able to drop was astounding and it was clear that he's an individual both with a passion for art and an intimate knowledge of the museum. The content was salacious, but always presented in a way that was respectful of both the art and the gallery. I would highly recommend the tour (and Erich as a guide). This will not be our last Museum Hack experience.