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In the News

Closer Inspection: Step into his office

When an exhibit leaves the National Gallery of Art, traces of it can still be found on the walls surrounding the desks of those who made it happen. Here, a look at the office space of senior curator and chief of design Mark Leithauser. — Kris Coronado

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“We ran out of space years ago,” says senior curator and chief of design Mark Leithauser of the office space he has shared for 25 years with the museum’s creative team of designers, architects and curators. (He has been with the museum for 38 years.)

Benjamin C. Tankersley / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

The National Gallery introduces an average 18 exhibits a year, and the office’s decor is a constant reminder of the museum’s mission. “It’s an aid to creativity to see all this different stuff all the time and the shocking juxtapositions, which is what we do here,” Leithauser says.

The National Gallery introduces an average 18 exhibits a year, and the office’s decor is a constant reminder of the museum’s mission. “It’s an aid to creativity to see all this different stuff all the time and the shocking juxtapositions, which is what we do here,” Leithauser says.

Benjamin C. Tankersley / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

Leithauser had his desk cut from a pair of Ionic columns that had been a temporary entryway for a 1985-86 exhibit on British art collecting. “We salvage everything we can,” he says.

Leithauser had his desk cut from a pair of Ionic columns that had been a temporary entryway for a 1985-86 exhibit on British art collecting. “We salvage everything we can,” he says.

Benjamin C. Tankersley / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

The office includes a scale model of a 17-foot-high Japanese teahouse that was on display in the late 1980s. “You could go inside and have green tea,” Leithauser says of the structure, now at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va.

The office includes a scale model of a 17-foot-high Japanese teahouse that was on display in the late 1980s. “You could go inside and have green tea,” Leithauser says of the structure, now at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va.

Benjamin C. Tankersley / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

This winged seashell, part of the entrance to a 2007 exhibit on Renaissance sculptor Desiderio Da Settignano, is a replica of a detail from the artist’s marble “Funerary Monument of Carlo Marsuppini” (circa 1459) in Florence, Italy.

This winged seashell, part of the entrance to a 2007 exhibit on Renaissance sculptor Desiderio Da Settignano, is a replica of a detail from the artist’s marble “Funerary Monument of Carlo Marsuppini” (circa 1459) in Florence, Italy.

Benjamin C. Tankersley / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

A book on Leithauser’s desk is a trompe l’oeil piece. Picking it up is impossible: It’s bolted down. During a 2002-03 trompe l’oeil exhibit, it sat on a museum bench. “People would sit down and try to pick it up, then they’d get the joke,” Leithauser says.

A book on Leithauser’s desk is a trompe l’oeil piece. Picking it up is impossible: It’s bolted down. During a 2002-03 trompe l’oeil exhibit, it sat on a museum bench. “People would sit down and try to pick it up, then they’d get the joke,” Leithauser says.

Benjamin C. Tankersley / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

Leithauser says he made a full-scale drawing of the 14-by-18-inch bronze sculpture “Flying Horse of Kansu,” one of China’s most famous icons, “so we could take it down into the space and decide how the room should look.” It was on display in 1974.

Leithauser says he made a full-scale drawing of the 14-by-18-inch bronze sculpture “Flying Horse of Kansu,” one of China’s most famous icons, “so we could take it down into the space and decide how the room should look.” It was on display in 1974.

Benjamin C. Tankersley / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

Leithauser has prints of his own oil paintings by his desk, examples of trompe l’oeil — a painting that deceives the viewer. Each is made to appear as if it’s a work in progress. For his 1989 piece “In Winter Light,” the canvas appears as though it is beginning to sag. The frame isn’t wood — it‘s painted on. “The tools that were necessary to make that painting are lined up at the bottom of the picture as though they’re on an easel,” he says.

Leithauser has prints of his own oil paintings by his desk, examples of trompe l’oeil — a painting that deceives the viewer. Each is made to appear as if it’s a work in progress. For his 1989 piece “In Winter Light,” the canvas appears as though it is beginning to sag. The frame isn’t wood — it‘s painted on. “The tools that were necessary to make that painting are lined up at the bottom of the picture as though they’re on an easel,” he says.

Benjamin C. Tankersley / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

This faux fruit and foam piece was made for graphic design testing for a 2010 exhibit on Renaissance artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who painted whimsical heads made of animals, flowers and more.

This faux fruit and foam piece was made for graphic design testing for a 2010 exhibit on Renaissance artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who painted whimsical heads made of animals, flowers and more.

Benjamin C. Tankersley / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

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