National Gallery of Art

The national art museum, not part of the Smithsonian but likewise free. The neoclassical West Building (1941) holds European painting from the 13th century onward, including the only Leonardo da Vinci in the Americas, plus Vermeer, Rembrandt, Monet and a strong American collection. I. M. Pei's angular East Building (1978) houses modern and contemporary art, with a large Calder mobile in the atrium. The two are linked by an underground concourse with a light installation. Across 7th Street the Sculpture Garden has works by Calder, Lichtenstein and Oldenburg around a fountain that becomes an ice rink in winter. A quiet counterweight to the crowded Smithsonian museums; two hours covers the highlights of the West Building.