6 may 1968 & national collection of fine arts opens

#OTD Monday 6 May 1968, the National Collection of Fine Arts (8th & F Sts, NW) opened at its new location (the old Patent Office Building). The museum was open from 9am to 4:30pm. More than 1,400 Washingtonians and tourists walked the halls looking at the more than 500 works of art on display. The following pieces by white artists were included:

Jacques Lipchitz's "Mother & Child"
Hiram Powers' "Eve"
Mary Cassatt's "Spanish Dancer Wearing a Lace Mantilla"
Hans Hofmann's "Fermented Soil"
Paul Wonner's "Model Drinking Coffee"
William Glackens' "Beach Umbrellas at Blue Point"

(The National Collection of Fine Arts is now the Smithsonian American Art Museum.)

Your comments are welcome below. Did you, a family member or neighbor attend the opening? What do you remember? Did you work at the museum? You may comment privately here.

Photo source: Courtesy Smithsonian Institution. Untitled by Chryssa (white). Offset lithograph on paper, c. 1968. Photographer unknown.
Ross Chapple,  "National Collection of Fine Arts," Evening Star 5 May 1968.
Martin Well, "Public Gets a Look at Newest Gallery," Washington Post 7 May 1968.