Dupont Circle Art Galleries

Dupont Circle is more than just a traffic island. It's an historic neighborhood in Washington, DC, where locals as well as tourists gather for a variety of reasons, from browsing the Sunday morning Farmers Market to strolling on a walking tour of the area's beautiful architecture. It's also home to several impressive art galleries.

Located about one mile from Avenue Suites Georgetown hotel, Dupont Circle has welcomed artists since the 1920s, with the founding of the Textile Museum and the Phillips Collection. The latter was the first museum featuring modern art in the United States. Over the following decades, private galleries began to open in the area, some in the lovely row houses of Dupont Circle. The galleries represent local artists as well as those from around the world. Works at the Dupont Circle art galleries are usually for sale, and each month, the galleries host First Fridays, showing off their latest represented works and offering wine and nibbles.

Artwork found in the Dupont Circle Galleries is mostly contemporary, like that found at Marsha Mateyka Gallery on R Street. A post-WWII collection can be found at the oldest Dupont Circle gallery, the Jane Haslem Gallery on Hillyer Place. The Alex Galleries on R Street are known for representing rising stars of the arts scene as well as more established European and American artists.