Monday, January 21, 2008

Would You Stand in Line to See This?






















Well I did. Apparently, I had waaaaayyyy too much free time over the holiday weekend. I trekked down to the National Portrait Gallery to take a glimpse (and a photo) of the Stephen Colbert portrait. The comedian is "featured" in a particularly bad rendition of himself on the second floor of the National Portrait Gallery. Its downtown. Take the 42 bus to the last stop at 9th and G Sts NW, then walk one block to the F Street entrance of the NPG. Go upstairs one flight and the painting will be on the right. Its positioned in between two bathrooms, as you can see in the photo.





















You'd think all of the eager, young minds in this second photo were in line to see the epic Landsdowne portrait of President George Washington, but alas, they were way more intrigued by the Colbert. The line was formed for those taking a photo of the portrait. Taking a picture of a picture. Yes.

The Portrait Gallery agreed to the "arrangement" only after Colbert was rebuffed by the National Museum of American History, which thankfully is closed until later this year. Not sure they would have gotten away placing Colbert's likeness next to its other rarified, historical, American classics such as Seinfeld's puffy shirt, John McClane's Die Hard wares, or Archie Bunker's Chair