Possibly the best thing about Washington D.C. is that the National Gallery of Art (along with, I think, all the Smithsonian) is free. This means you just take a casual stroll through without any of the pressure of having spent a sizable sum like you might to visit a place like the Art Institute in Chicago. In Chicago a visit is an event, you need to see the Seurat, the Grant Wood, etc. You've spent money and you need make it count.
In D.C. you can literally walk in, go look at the big Joan Mitchell for 10 minutes and continue on your day. Or you can wander through a room you've never been interested in and find something and then go to lunch. Without the commitment to get everything done, you are suddenly free.
Good libraries (edit: even mediocre libraries) also have this quality.
For those of us on the other side of the ditch: all museums in London are free. and I would echo the sentiment that it makes exploration of them less of a completionist activity to "get your monies worth" and more of an enjoyable forey into a rich space.
Its literally a paradigm shift.
Also almost all commercial art galleries are like this, obvs for other reasons. The gallery district (google art galleries then wander those streets, chelsea is the most established) in NYC is an amazing place to spend a day wandering around seeing amazing art. my uncle who teaches art introduced me to it and i try to spread the word.
Many museums have a membership. For one price you can visit the museum any time you want. I strongly recommend everyone do this for all their local museums. It changes the experience when you don't feel bad about wasting the admission because you only have an hour. Particularly small local museums where spending all day isn't worth it, but if you have to pay admission you feel compelled to spend all day to get your money's worth.
Some of them also include reduced price admission to others of the same time. My local zoo isn't very big, but the membership means half price admission to a very good zoo just a couple hours away. My local science museum got me free admission to many other science museums and children's museums. My local historic farm got me into a lot of interesting historical sites. Be sure to understand what you get and take advantage of it on vacations.
I strongly recommend you get the version that lets you bring two guests. When my parents or some other friend from out of town comes to visit we have something interesting to show them (and if they are not having fun we can leave early).
I lived in DC for a couple of years and I felt exactly the same. I try and carry that same mentality to all museums now, paid or unpaid. No research, no expectations, wander around and let yourself be surprised, leave when you’re bored. It’s a lot of fun.
Although it is hard to do when you’ve paid 50 bucks for a ticket and you know there is “just one more” ultra-famous piece on the other side of the museum and when will I really be back in (Amsterdam, Paris, etc)?
^^ this. I was never an art person and then one day I felt like I was just punched in the face when it hit me. It's not like "I like this, it's interesting", it's like "Oh. That."
the punched in the face expression is strange here. I get it but I also presume that you have never been punched in the face much like you never connected (that's the word you are looking for, also a boxing term) with art.
I wish I could do this. In general, in museums I always feel compelled to go through all the exhibits my time allows, when clearly some of them capture my attention and others are just filler. But I would feel guilty "wasting" my time with the piece that caught my attention.
This is where a membership to the local museum comes in handy. Then there's no pressure to see all the exhibits because you could always come back next week.
I have the same feeling always, so for my upcoming trip to Amsterdam and a visit to the Rijksmuseum I vibed https://rijksmuseum.matze.lol to concentrate on something I _want_ to see.
Most astonishing time that happened to me was a wall-sized Rothko that just floored me, in a way I never would have expected a slab of color to.
Dali’s La Gare de Perpignan stopped me in my tracks too.
Rarely been as stunned by more famous works as when I got blindsided by something that leapt out and said ‘look’.