Washington Winter Show 2023

43 nestles harmoniously in the landscape. Vernacular buildings from southern Europe were the inspiration. The result was a partly underground structure with a clean textured central book room that could accommodate art of all mediums, time periods, and styles. And there was a brilliant governing thought. From the very beginning Mark Rothko’s huge No. 20 Yellow Expanse was to dominate the east wall of the central space alongside a huge floor to ceiling window. The giant canvas is illuminated by natural light filtered through a skylight. The window brings the changing seasons and morning sunlight into the refined interior. On summer evenings the aerial acrobatics of barn swallows enliven the views toward the Bull Run mountains. With the Library complete, and the Rothko in place, Bunny Mellon could not have been more bold in how she decided to complement it. The great canvas is flanked on one side by the geometric formality of Sophie Granville’s Dandelion and her Carrot Flowers, both from the twentieth century. On the other side are three masterworks from the Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (1573–1621), Still Life of Variegated Tulips, Roses, a Hyacinth, a Primrose, a Violet, Forget-me-nots, a Columbine, Lily- of-the-valley, a Cyclamen, a Marigold and a Carnation, all in a glass vase, with a Butterfly and a Housefly, 1606. Private collection (previously in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon). Photo by Jim Morris. Cristoforo Munari (1667–1720), attributed, A Quince, and Apple, Two Lemons, and Three Blue and White Cups, ca. 1700. Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Upperville, Virginia. Photo by Jim Morris. Gillis Gillisz de Berch (1600–1669), Still Life with Peaches, a Caterpillar, and a Bird, not dated. Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Upperville, Virginia. Photo by Jim Morris.