Passes Needed at 2 Exhibitions

Travelers planning on seeing two major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.--”Winslow Homer,” which opens today, and “Johannes Vermeer,” which runs Nov. 12-Feb. 11--will need special passes, according to the museum.

The passes are free if obtained at the museum and are being issued to control crowds in the exhibition space, a spokeswoman said. Passes bear specific entrance times.

For the Homer exhibit, on view through Jan. 28, passes will be required for weekends and holidays, as well as Nov. 24 and Dec. 26-31 (Information: 202-842- 6713). This is the first comprehensive exhibition of his work in more than 20 years.

For the Vermeer, which is the first major exhibition of his work in this country, passes will be required every day (Information: 202-842-6684).

Free advance and same-day passes are available at the museum’s East Building. They also are available from Ticketmaster at fees starting at $2 per pass.