Your National Gallery

Year Published: 1945

Creator: Thomas Mead

Description: During WWII, cinematographer Arthur E. Arling (who had worked as a camera operator on 1939's "Gone With the Wind") was drafted into the U.S. Navy and put to work making motion pictures. One of these films was "Your National Gallery", an Academy Award nominated short directed by Thomas Mead and released in 1945. The footage shown here is apparently dailies or test footage for that production. The footage includes shots of cherry blossoms on the trees near the Jefferson Memorial and tidal basin, a woman (3:31) posing with the blossoms, shots of a young boy playing by the basin (4:29), the Washington Monument as seen from the basin (5:36), U.S. flag with the Washington Monument in the distance (6:22), old Smithsonian building and Capitol Building in distance with U.S. flag in foreground on the Mall (7:17), soldier holding flag in front of Washington Monument (7:49), shots of artwork inside National Gallery including portait of Therese Louise de Sureda by Francisco de Goya (8:40), exterior views of National Gallery of Art (10:45).