Washington, DC’s performing arts scene is active and vibrant from season to season. New exhibitions are opening on a regular basis, plans are in the works for future showcases, and venue calendars are full. Late spring and early summer will prove to be no exception.The Smithsonian American Art Museum has jump-started a spectacular spring by playing host to one of the nation’s best-known paintings. “American Gothic” recently returned to Washington, DC after a 40-year absence, taking its place at the museum’s Renwick Gallery as part of the larger exhibition, Grant Wood’s Studio: Birthplace of “American Gothic.” On view through July 16, the exhibition pairs the classic American portrait with the artist’s decorative art and design work.

At The Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of modern art, a visual exploration of the fond connection between America and Swedish artist Paul Klee opens June 17. Klee and America, on view through Sep. 10, is a collection of roughly 80 works, among them works collected and owned by three prominent American artistic figures: writer Ernest Hemingway, playwright Clifford Odets and modern architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The Phillips Collection recently completed a series of renovations and expansions that resulted in an additional 30,000 square feet of space, making room for a state-of-the-art technology and art laboratory and a 180-seat auditorium.

Just in time for Independence Day, works displayed at two major city museums will headline Washington, DC Celebrates American Originals, a summer cultural tourism promotion. At the National Portrait Gallery, classic blends with contemporary in a series of works ranging from the Landsdowne portrait of George Washington to a showcase of portraits displayed as part of the National Portrait Gallery’s first national competition. Other exhibits will pay tribute to noted American poets, composers, musicians and athletes. At the American Art Museum July 1 through October, William Wegman—Funney/Strange will feature new works by American artist William Wegman alongside his beloved photographs of weimaraner dogs. And William H. Johnson’s World on Paper, on view July 1 through Jan. 2007, will feature a collection of watercolor prints by noted African-American artist William H. Johnson.

Starting in mid-June, the National Gallery of Art will unveil an exhibition showcasing 16th-century Venetian art. Though several international exhibitions have focused on art from this period—known as the Golden Age—Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, and the Renaissance of Venetian Paintingdiffers from other collections, exploring the relationships between the artists while focusing on paintings from the century’s first three decades. It will be comprised of more than 60 paintings representing the ideas and values of the time, including music, pastoral landscapes, female nudes and romantic portraits. The exhibition will be on view June 18 through Sep. 17.

American Originals: Eye Witness, on view at the National Archives June 23 through Jan. 1, 2007, will feature rarely-seen letters, diaries, photographs and audio and film recordings recounting pivotal moments in American history—including Thomas Jefferson’s eyewitness report of events during the French Revolution and an excerpt from Lady Bird Johnson’s audio diary on Nov. 22, 1963, the day of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

While other performing arts venues are busy this summer preparing for their fall seasons, the Kennedy Center will be busy with a major Broadway production. Little Women, the Broadway Musical runs June 27 through July 23 and stars renowned actress Maureen McGovern. And May 27 through July 2, Jerry Herman’s Mame stars Emmy Award® winner and two-time Tony Award® winner Christine Baranski in the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater.