Katharina Fritsch's "Hahn/Cock," a 15-foot electric blue rooster, looks out over Constitution Avenue from the new roof terrace at the National Gallery’s renovated East Building. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
A top-floor gallery was built into one of I.M. Pei’s tower spaces, making room for a large display of works by Alexander Calder. Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
A collection of Mark Rothko works is located atop tower one. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
A stunning room devoted entirely to Modigliani is located on the ground level. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
New stairways connect the building and are easier to navigate. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
A trio of David Smith sculptures — Circle I, Circle III and Circle II — in the north window of the ground floor of the renovated museum. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
Alexander Calder’s 76-foot-long mobile still hangs in the atrium. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
“Revisiting the National Gallery of Art’s East Building, which is reopening Friday after a three-year renovation, is like greeting an old friend. She still has all the same familiar qualities, and conversation picks up as if no time has passed at all. But you also can’t help but notice: She looks good.”