L'Enfant Gallery
Account

L'ENFANT GALLERY: Curating Centuries of Art & History

EXPLORE WORKS

Overview

We invite you to experience live and in person our three floors of art and antiques, our exhibitions, lectures, dinners, dance performances, and cocktail parties.

OUR WORKS

Americana

Americana
Joseph Dawley

Joseph Dawley
Wall Of Women

Wall Of Women
ALL WORKS

EVENTS @ L'enfant Gallery

Date: March 29, 2025

Wall of Women

The Wall of Women was curated to celebrate International Women’s Day and the female artists in L’Enfant Gallery’s extensive collection. During the curation process, it became apparent to us how few women artists were represented and how many of the female portraits were naked. The wall became a powerful statement on the underrepresentation of women in the art world as a whole. For Women’ History Month in 2025, we brought the Wall of Woman into the public gallery space for everyone to see. We invited a select panel of artists, thinkers, and friends to sit in front of the art...

View DETAILS
Date: January 25, 2025

Joseph Dawley, 1936 – 2008

Together with the Dawley family, we have brought together over 40 paintings and prints to honour Joseph Dawley's career. From his art student days at SMU; to his success in Dallas as a master of realism depicting the 'wild west'; to his later works as a great American impressionist, developed as a reaction against early onset Parkinson's disease. Peter Colasante of L’Enfant Gallery has represented Joe Dawley since 1976 and continues to do so today. This friendship led Joe to be deeply connected to D.C. and as a result several prominent figures on Capitol Hill became collectors of his work...

View DETAILS
About L'ENFANT Gallery

L'ENFANT GALLERY in Georgetown invites you to experience art and history firsthand. Our doors are always open, no appointment needed, for those seeking inspiration and unique finds.

Visitors are welcome, without appointment.
CONNECT

1442 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington D.C. 20007
Wednesday – Sunday, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
PHONE: 202-625-2873
EMAIL: info@lenfantgallery.com
INSTAGRAM: @lenfantgallery

Phone: +1 202-625-2873

Dolley Madison, c. 1820 - Attributed to John Wesley Jarvis

This portrait of Dolley Madison embodies both artistic mastery and American heritage. Painted circa 1820 and attributed to John Wesley Jarvis, the work has journeyed through the White House, private collections, and now resides at L’Enfant Gallery. Its provenance ties together figures such as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and collector Richard Tetlie, marking it as a piece of cultural and historical significance.

Beyond its rarity, the painting reflects L’Enfant Gallery’s dedication to preserving artworks that define national identity and artistic legacy. Presented alongside more accessible acquisitions, it stands as evidence of the gallery’s dual mission: to celebrate history while offering collectors and visitors alike a direct encounter with enduring artistry.

Learn More

History

Peter Colasante became an art dealer by accident. This story is as dramatic as they come. His arrival in DC from NYC, his brief career on the stage and meeting with Fred Maloof, the a wealthy Lebanese art collector Lower East Side roommate of Kahlil Gibran, led to a burglary, an accusation of attempted-assasination and a Washington Post reported interrogation of Peter by the FBI.

L’Enfant Gallery has always provided real escapism, a physical world of touched objects far away from the screen. Any sense of time or place vanishes as you climb the stairs to yet another floor

Peter continues to run a brick and mortar three story old curiosity shop come gallery, But he now also invites all to experience L’Enfant Gallery’s three floors of art and antiques, our exhibitions, lectures, dinners, dance performances, and cocktail parties.

Learn More

@lenfantgallery