The National Gallery of Art's West Building is shown from the Mall, its long neoclassical facade, central columned portico, and dome rising behind small trees, with lawn and roadway in the foreground. The museum had opened in 1941, so in 1943 it was still a new national institution in wartime Washington. The sender reports spending the day there and hearing the President at the Cemetery the day before, likely an Armistice Day appearance at Arlington National Cemetery.
Postcard Details
Message · English, in pen
We are spending
the day in this place
Amanda is with us
wish you three were
here - Heard the
President - at the
Cemetery yesterday.
a thunder shower
[illegible]
there. Hope all are
well, love Momma
will write again after-
PostmarkedWashington, DC, November 12, 1943, 16:00
Black-and-white photographic image; film edge/sprocket-like marks at left and light scratches across the sky suggest a print from a negative. Printed caption 'NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART / WASHINGTON, D. C.' and, along the lower edge, 'View of the Building from the Mall'. Postmark: WASHINGTON, D.C. NOV 12 4-PM 1943. Divided-back glossy B&W photo card; printed defense savings slogan box 'BUY DEFENSE SAVINGS BONDS AND STAMPS', partly overlapped by the 1-cent George Washington stamp. Message written in pencil sideways along the long edge. Light edge wear and a few foxing spots.
Cite this card
National Gallery of Art from the Mall, Washington, DC, 1943, postcard, c. 1943. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/national-gallery-of-art-from-the-mall-washington-dc-1943. Accessed November 3, 2026.
