I was just at the NMAI last week while on vacation in Newport. My husband discovered it and thought I would be interested. After checking out the website I was intrigued because they highlighted on the website three artists of interest, Violet Oakley, Elizabeth Shippen Green, and Jessie Willcox Smith. I was also excited to see a collection like this because I don’t feel that illustrators are ever held at the same level as the masters of fine art. My 3 star rating comes from my mixed feelings of what I experienced when there. The people who worked there were all lovely, the grounds and mansion are stunning, and the collection is impressive. Five stars for that. However, I felt like I couldn’t really enjoy most of the collection. Some pieces were hung so high I could barely see them. Some pieces of art you couldn’t really engaged with because they were in a roped off area. The way the art was lit it caused glare on the work and again this made the work difficult to view. The collection is mostly Rockwell, Parrish, Pyle, etc very much reflective of the time. The three artists I was there to see....Oakley had five pieces, four were hung high and one of those in the roped off library. Unfortunately I was only able to view one because it was propped up on the floor. Smith and Green I stumbled upon on my way out. It would be really nice to see those female illustrators of that time highlighted for once. As an artist and educator I was frustrated that I couldn’t really experience the art the way I’m used to in most museums.