WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: NOVEMBER 8, 2026

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V29 2026 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 29, Number 45, 2026, Article 27

One thing I'd hoped to do in retirement was visit museums, something my wife has little interest in. So on Thursday morning I set out for downtown Washington, D.C. to visit the National Gallery of Art. First I drove a couple miles to the Ashburn Metro station and caught a Silver Line train to Metro Center. It was a cloudy day but it never rained on me. I walked about 20 minutes to my destination, passing other D.C. landmarks including the Old Post Office and Department of Justice. I snapped a ton of photos, and here's a selection.

I'd heard from someone (I think it was Kellen Hoard) that there was a display of medals at the National Gallery. I asked at the front desk and the lady kindly pointed me to the Sculpture Gallery right behind me on the ground floor.

Bela Lyon Pratt Clara and Lizzie signature

Bela Lyon Pratt signature - "Clara and Lizzie" plaque

I needed three photos to capture this display of work by artists including Pierre-Jean David D'Angers, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Karl Goetz, Louis-Oscar Roty, Jules-Clement Chaplain, Henry Dropsy, and Ovide Yencesse.

I was floored by this one - I didn't know such a thing existed - a Society of the Cincinnati plate manufactured in China c1784-1785. It pictures the Society of the Cincinnati medal, an example of which had floored me at the recent ANA in Pittsburgh.

Da Vinci's portrait of Ginevra de'Benci c1474/1478

Vermeer's "Woman Holding a Balance" and Chardin's "Soap Bubbles"

I have a poster of Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" in my home office, and for years had a copy of "Soap Bubbles" in my work office. Only about 35 Vermeer works survive - the National Gallery displayed three.

Houdon's Washington bust and Stuart's Thomas Jefferson

I wish I could say I carefully planned this shot, but I love how the reflection on the glass shows Washington in the large portrait across the room.

Trumbull's "Alexander Hamilton" and Healy's "Abraham Lincoln"

As a collector of works by "Money Artist" J.S.G. Boggs, I also enjoy works of Tromp L'eiol by predecessors William Harnett and Victor Dubreuil.

Harnett's "Old Violin" and Dubreuil's "Safe Money"

A copyist studies Cassatt's "Woman with a Sunflower"

Born in my hometown of Pittsburgh, Mary Cassatt began training as a painter in 1861. Beginning in 1865 she travelled and studied in Paris, Rome, and Madrid. Edgar Degas saw her work and asked her to exhibit with the Impressionists. For a stretch in my younger years I bought and read every book I could find about Cassatt and her good friends French artist Berthe Morisot and American art collector and philanthropist Louisine Havemeyer. Cassatt's advice helped build some of the great art museum collections in America.

I had a wonderful time at the museum, but there was more fun to come. I left around 3pm to walk to my next destination, a 4pm book launch talk at the Cato Institute for Chelsea Follett's history book "The Grim Old Days" about "the harsh reality of preindustrial life—one that most people today would not wish upon their worst enemies." I bought a copy and had a nice time at the reception afterward speaking with the author and Washington Post columnist Dominic Pino.

But wait - there's more - after another walk I met up with my assistant Garrett Ziss. He's working in D.C. on a Fellowship. We had a nice dinner and got caught up with the latest news. Before leaving the restaurant he opened his laptop and showed me some features of the tool he's built to help us put together The E-Sylum. We walked together back to Metro Center and went our ways on separate trains. I checked my pedometer when I got home and I'd walked over 17,000 steps. It was a long but great day.