TVSquad

Maybe it wasn't exactly an epic journey, but let's have some fun info from a day in the life of Annie anyway, shall we? Well, Monday afternoon, I shelled out a couple of bucks and jumped on a train to Washington DC. I already do so every once in a while to visit the museums, but this time I had an actual mission: to be an obnoxious fangirl in front of the Stephen Colbert portrait in the National Portrait Gallery.

From the looks of some photos on the Internet, the line to see the portrait can get pretty intense, but I guess crowds weren't really flocking in on a Monday afternoon. Anyway, my friends and I were excited to be there but also a little disappointed. I've always known that the "painting" was just a digital image on canvas, but, up close, I was really blown away by how it really wasn't much more than Photoshop filtered. I mean, brushstrokes weren't even simulated. My friends and I, all of us being annoying artists, quietly whispered complaints back and forth about the detailing, because, come on, the Report couldn't afford a real painter or even someone to do some tablet work on the computer? Hell, I would have done it for free. Arty nitpicking aside, people around us seemed to enjoy the Gallery's blurb about the portrait, which I've included after the jump...

Stephen Colbert (born 1964)
Born Washington, D.C.

"Stephen Colbert, the mock pundit for the Comedy Central show The Colbert Report recently contacted the National Portrait Gallery hoping to donate this portrait of himself from his show. While this triple portrait is not one that would typically be accessioned into the Portrait Gallery's permanent collection, NPG agreed to go along with the joke and hang the portrait for a limited time.

In episodes of The Colbert Report that aired on January 10, 14, and 15, 2008, Colbert tries to convince the Smithsonian that he should be considered a national treasure. He attempts to donate his portrait to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, but the museum's director suggests that perhaps Colbert should speak to the National Portrait Gallery. Finally, after much "discussion," the director of the National Portrait Gallery finds an appropriate place to hang Colbert's portrait, in between the bathrooms and above the water fountain.

This portrait will only be here for a limited time, so refresh yourself at the drinking fountain while contemplating this portrait of Colbert while you can.

Digital image on Canvas, 2005
On loan from The Colbert Report"

Here's my advice: If you want to be close to something that Colbert has touched, then go for it and take a trip to see the portrait. However, if you're looking to admire the detail up close, I don't think there's really much to see and I wouldn't suggest visiting it unless you're already pretty near D.C. I would also suggest that you shouldn't go crazy with the photos because, as I found out from personal experience, the guards will make fun of you.

I would also like to note that, in my photo, I am not wearing a hipster-style keffiyeh, but a normal plaid scarf. However, I have no defense for my Batman pin.