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National Gallery of Art Will Close Due to Coronavirus

The museum tentatively plans to reopen April 4.

Coronavirus 2020

About Coronavirus 2020

Washingtonian is keeping you up to date on the coronavirus around DC.

The National Gallery of Art will close to the public tomorrow, March 14, the museum announced Thursday. The museum tentatively plans to reopen April 4.

An exhibit on abstract artist Lynda Benglis was scheduled to open March 22. The museum also announced that it would indefinitely postpone a planned exhibit, “A Superb Baroque: Art in Genoa, 1600–1750,” because of travel limitations in Italy, one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus. The museum had planned to open the exhibit May 3. Organized by the National Gallery and the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome, “A Superb Baroque” included many works on loan from Italy and had been slated to travel to Rome in October. “We are investigating opportunities to present this landmark exhibition at another time in the near future,” the museum announced in a tweet.

The museum will continue to update audiences via their website and social media.

With concerns about the novel coronavirus on the rise in the Washington area, many organizations have canceled events. On March 11, Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency for the District.

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Nora McGreevy
Editorial Fellow

Nora McGreevy joined Washingtonian as an editorial fellow in January. Originally from South Bend, she has worked for The Boston Globe and the South Bend Tribune. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame.