Yesterday's Google Doodle celebrated Johannes Vermeer. On clicking, I found that this was because November 12, 1995 was the day the Vermeer Exhibition opened at the National Gallery of Art, "featuring 21 of his existing 35 works". I remember that exhibition, both for its paintings and its circumstances.
The exhibition overlapped with two government shutdowns: November 14 through November 19, 1995, and December 19, 1995 through January 6, 1996. During the shutdowns, not all, but a good deal of the federal government was closed, including the National Gallery. During the second shutdown, when it began to appear that the exhibition would disperse on February 11, 1996 without many having seen it, a private foundation paid the expenses to open it. The National Gallery usually closes at 5 pm, but the Vermeer exhibition was open until 7 pm Friday through Sunday. I suppose that it must have been the only part of the National Gallery one could see while the shutdown continued.
I know that we visited it late in the day. I recall being drenched while waiting to get tickets, then chilled. It was worth the trouble.
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