Barbara Fendrick, a Washington art dealer who helped introduce the region to the work of luminaries such as Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, first by selling prints and drawings that she stored in boxes under her bed, then by opening an elegant Georgetown gallery that became a linchpin of the D.C. art scene for two decades, died Jan. 1 at her home in Chevy Chase, Md. She was 94.
Washington
Barbara Fendrick, one of Washington’s premier art dealers, dies at 94
One of her daughters, Julia Fendrick, confirmed the death but did not give a specific cause.
Through her namesake gallery, Ms. Fendrick organized the first Washington solo shows of artists including Robert Arneson, Jim Dine, Helen Frankenthaler, Louise Nevelson and Johns, the protean painter, sculptor and printmaker whom she described as her “good-luck artist.” Twenty-one of his etchings and lithographs were featured at the Fendrick Gallery’s opening, in 1970; nearly 20 years later, they were taken out of Ms. Fendrick’s personal collection and used to open the gallery’s short-lived New York branch, in SoHo.
An energetic dealer with an expansive, at times unorthodox approach to art, Ms. Fendrick began selling drawings and prints in 1960 at the suggestion of her husband, Daniel Fendrick, a research official at the State Department. They had four young children, with a fifth to come. Her husband saw a need for more Washington art dealers, and he also was looking for a way to find Ms. Fendrick work outside the home.
He “felt that I was overwhelmed with small children in diapers,” she recalled in a 2007 oral history for the organization ArtTable, “and I better do something.”
Ms. Fendrick had no formal credentials, although she got what she considered a free education in art while working as a docent at the National Gallery. She also had help from a well-connected cousin, the painter and sculptor Irena Baruch Wiley, who introduced her to a friend who was trying to offload a collection of European prints.
Before long, Ms. Fendrick was traveling the country, selling modernist works by Braque, Picasso and Miró and expanding into American art with prints by Josef Albers, Robert Motherwell, Frank Stella and Roy Lichtenstein. She hosted clients at her home, which was filled with antique French furniture and framed prints, as well as a makeshift gallery of art by her children. (“Look at this — it was definitely influenced by a Rouault print we had here,” she told a Washington Post reporter in 1962. “And this one has something of a Picasso we have upstairs.”)
As Ms. Fendrick told it, she opened her gallery in Georgetown after her children got tired of having to finish dinner early and run upstairs, “out of sight, out of mind,” so that she could meet with curators and other clients. But the business remained a family affair: Her husband, a co-owner of the gallery, wrote its monthly newsletter and designed its plexiglass display frames, while her children helped out at openings and receptions, cleaning and cooking and occasionally serving champagne.
Under her direction, the three-story gallery became a showcase for Washington artists such as Sam Gilliam, John Grazier and Andrea Way. It also featured the work of sculptors such as Albert Paley, who gained national recognition for the decorative “Portal Gates” he created for the Renwick Gallery, and spotlighted artists whose mediums were seldom represented in major galleries or museums, such as glass artist Dale Chihuly and furniture makers Wendell Castle and Arthur Cotton Moore.
“I like to do one offbeat show every year,” Ms. Fendrick told the magazine Craft Horizons, looking back on shows such as “The Book as Art,” from 1976, which explored the intersection between writing and painting. The show included work by John Cage, Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol, and followed on the success of another unconventional show, “Clay USA,” which the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art deemed “the first major show of contemporary ceramics on the East Coast.”
Asked about her philosophy as a gallerist, Ms. Fendrick said that her mission was simple: “To show the best.” Yet she also suggested that with shows built around mediums such as metal, clay and wood, she had grander ambitions as well.
“I was trying to point out,” she said in the oral history, “that objects can be as interesting and as worthy as a painting.”
The younger of two children, Barbara Johnson Cooper was born in Indianapolis on Dec. 18, 1929. Her mother was a homemaker, and her father was a Navy lawyer whose job led the family to move to Florida and Washington, where she graduated from Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School.
At 17, she went to Lisbon to live with her cousin John Cooper Wiley, the U.S. ambassador to Portugal, and his wife, Irena, the artist who helped her launch her career as a dealer. Ms. Fendrick affectionately described them as her aunt and uncle and accompanied the couple to their next diplomatic posting, in Tehran.
Irena “taught me how to look,” she said, by taking her to European churches and art museums. Years later, she agreed to be represented by Ms. Fendrick’s gallery.
Ms. Fendrick attended Georgetown University and met her husband when they were both enrolled at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, known as Sciences Po. They married in 1953 and settled in Chevy Chase a few years later, where Ms. Fendrick began selling art while drawing inspiration from two other prominent women in the art world: Alice Denney, a Washington impresario of the avant-garde, and Tatyana Grosman, a printmaker and publisher who encouraged her interest in fine-art prints.
In addition to her daughter Julia, survivors include four other children, Lila, Peter, Anne-Marie and John Fendrick, and 10 grandchildren. Her husband died in 1992, the year after Ms. Fendrick closed her galleries in Washington and New York amid an economic downturn.
Business was bad, she said, but she was also exhausted by putting on monthly shows. She turned instead to working as an art consultant, appraiser, lecturer and guest curator. “I’m always urging people to please go out and look,” she said in the oral history, “because there’s always something there.”
NAVASOTA, Texas (KBTX) – For many Texans, the Fourth of July is about fireworks and family cookouts. At Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site, it’s also about standing where Texas’ own independence story began, and marking a milestone in how the Lone Star State became part of the nation it celebrates.
The Texas historic site, set on 293 acres of parkland along the Brazos River, is known as “Where Texas Became Texas.” It is the place where 59 delegates met and signed the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836, launching what would become the Republic of Texas.
From 1836 to 1846, Texas existed as a separate nation, before the question of annexation came to the forefront. Site staff say Washington-on-the-Brazos offers a “bookended” look at the Republic’s decade-long history because discussions about joining the United States also took place there and were ultimately voted on in the property.
This year’s July 4 programming is designed to connect those chapters of Texas history with the national holiday, including a commemoration tied directly to the Lone Star being added to the American flag.
“This is also the 180th anniversary of when Texas was added to the American flag,” said Chandler Wahrmund, assistant site manager for the Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site, which is part of the broader Republic of Texas Complex.
A historic site with multiple stops
Washington-on-the-Brazos includes several major attractions:
- Visitor Center: The recommended starting point for guests. It features interactive exhibits presenting a timeline of the Texas Revolution and includes the Museum Store, with snacks and Texas-themed items. The Visitor Center is free and is where visitors can gather information and purchase entry tickets for the site’s paid attractions.
- Independence Hall: A replica building that sits on the spot where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed, allowing visitors to visualize where that pivotal moment unfolded.
- Star of the Republic Museum: A central museum on the grounds focused on the Republic era.
- Barrington Living History Farm: A living-history area that interprets life in the Republic of Texas period through demonstrations and activities.
The historic site is also the core of the Republic of Texas Complex, which includes Fanthorp Inn, a preserved 19th-century stagecoach inn in nearby Anderson.
July 4 events across the grounds
Staff say this year’s July 4 celebration will include activities happening throughout the site, with scheduled programs at key times.
According to site staff, the day includes:
- Flag raising ceremony at 11 a.m.
- Readings of the American Declaration of Independence at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
- Star of the Republic Museum cockade-making, creating patriotic lapel decorations
- Barrington Living History Farm games, including trap ball, a precursor to baseball
- Townsite activities at Hatfield’s Exchange, a recreated high-class bar from the period, with lemonade and other period-inspired nonalcoholic drinks for visitors
Wahrmund said the day is a chance to revisit the country’s founding words, and understand why they still matter.
“I love to read the words of Thomas Jefferson on the day, July 4th, to really understand why we exist as a nation,” he said.
Hours and admission
Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site will be open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on July 4, and admission is free all day.
Copyright 2026 KBTX. All rights reserved.
How Fourth of July became a celebration of history and hope
From revolution to massive fireworks, July Fourth evolved into a celebration of history, heritage and America’s values.
With 150,000 people expected to attend Saturday’s Fourth of July festivities on the National Mall in Washington DC, locals and tourists alike may be looking for alternative options to view fireworks on America’s 250th birthday.
Washington DC will offer a secondary firework show on the 4th, and there will be plenty of areas in the city and surrounding neighborhoods to catch the big firework display at the National Mall.
Here’s a look at some of the best places to watch the July 4 fireworks in Washington DC.
Where can you watch fireworks in Washington DC on July 4th?
The National Mall will be the most popular area to watch fireworks, with President Donald Trump promising “the largest fireworks show in history.” Officials say 850,000 firework shells will be launched, potentially breaking a Guinness World Record.
But you don’t need to be at the crowded mall and its strict security measures in order to watch the display.
The organizers of the firework show, Freedom 250, say there will also be viewing spots at Hains Point, Columbia Marina, Gravelly Point, RFK Stadium, Meridian Hill Park, Union Station, Lower Senate Park and Upper Senate Park.
Other popular areas to watch the fireworks include the Cardozo Education Campus in Columbia Heights, the Washington National Cathedral in northwest DC, Lady Bird Johnson Park off the Potomac River and the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on Capitol Hill.
Washington DC officials have also released an interactive map that allows you to see your view of the fireworks from any place in the city.
Are there any other fireworks shows in Washington DC on July 4th?
Anacostia Park will serve as the viewing area for a separate fireworks display that will be concurrent with the National Mall fireworks, which are expected to begin at 11 p.m.
DC officials say you can enter the park through Marion Barry Ave. SE, Nicholson St. SE or the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail near the Skate Pavilion.
The event is free to the public, as is the National Mall’s show.
After DSA candidates roiled traditional Democrats with wins in New York City last week, Tuesday’s primary in a Denver-centered district tested whether the left wing’s appeal could prevail elsewhere.
It turns out the democratic socialists’ reach extends well beyond New York — and it may well grow before the year is out.
Melat Kiros, backed by the national Democratic Socialists of America and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, upset Rep. Diana DeGette, who has held her reliably blue seat for almost 30 years.
“What we’re seeing right now is the response to voters feeling like the party has not actually been fighting for working people,” Kiros told MS NOW last week.
The result is that Kiros, a critic of the Israeli government and high-ranking Democratic leaders, will likely be a member of Congress come next year. That happened even as DeGette cast the race as a warning, with President Donald Trump’s second term continuing to upend governance from the nation’s capital.
“Now is not the time to gamble and send somebody with no experience to Washington,” DeGette said during a recent candidate forum. “We need a strong, bold, hardened leader who will hold Trump accountable.”
The result was one of several Colorado results Tuesday to test incumbents or prominent statewide officials navigating a turbulent moment in Democratic politics — one in which voters have shown an appetite for untested fighters over familiar faces who’ve served in Washington’s halls of power.
The night’s theme wasn’t clear-cut; the three marquee races diverged on everything from ideology to questions of approach and clout. But each pitted an incumbent whose Congressional ties became fodder for a challenger.
In 2020, Democrats’ ability to woo former Gov. John Hickenlooper into the Senate race was seen as a boon for a party trying to unseat incumbent GOP Sen. Cory Gardner, one of the last Republicans left representing a blue state in the Senate. That move came after Hickenlooper’s 2020 presidential primary campaign fizzled. Even so, he faced a somewhat-competitive primary that year, taking 58.7% to his challenger’s 41.3%. Hickenlooper went on to win the seat that November by a little over nine points.
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