L'Enfant Gallery

Customer Experience

L’Enfant Gallery occupies the ground floor of a three-story Italianate building at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and P Street — a 19th-century landmark with high ceilings, large arched windows, and ten-foot display cases that spill furniture and sculpture out toward the sidewalk. On a busy Georgetown afternoon, passing tourists slow down; people who know what it is walk straight in. The building appeared in the 2017 Wonder Woman film. The gallery has been here since 2000 and the owner has been in the antiques business since 1973.

That owner is Peter Colasante, a New Jersey-raised former actor who learned the trade cataloguing for an eccentric collector in Maryland and has spent fifty-plus years by the rule his mentor gave him: “Never specialize.” The result is a collection that takes four full floors — including a basement styled as a Victorian parlor — to contain: oil paintings, Chinese art and Asian ceramics, Civil War artifacts, antique furniture including exotic carved pieces, chandeliers, silver, sculpture, and decorative objects from dozens of countries spanning the 17th century to the present. He works alongside his former business partner Maureen Taylor, who helps manage the gallery and co-hosts exhibitions.

Claim to Fame

The gallery holds over 4,000 oil paintings accumulated over five decades — Colasante sells 200 to 300 annually. He has been called upon to authenticate works, loan Civil War artifacts to major exhibitions (including a Lincoln show), and consult on provenance for significant collections. Dealers across the country turn to L’Enfant specifically for Chinese art and Asian ceramics.

What distinguishes the gallery from a standard antiques shop is its programming. The L’Enfant Lecture Series brings in academics and specialists on topics that range from AI warfare to folklore. The Counterpoint Concerts series hosts classical musicians in the gallery space. The monthly “Cocktail in the Window” events pair a house mixologist with live musicians and turn the storefront window into a public spectacle. Exhibitions rotate every few months, and past events have included performance salons, art history tours, and international women’s exhibitions. Colasante runs all of it without a computer.

Preparing for Your Visit

Open Wednesday through Sunday, 10am–6pm; closed Monday and Tuesday. Phone ahead at (202) 625-2873 before a dedicated trip, as hours can occasionally vary. The gallery also offers appraisals and consulting by arrangement.

Parking on Wisconsin and P is tight but more manageable on weekdays when the tourist foot traffic on the corridor is lower. The corner location is accessible from the Dupont Circle Metro (about six blocks east on P Street) if you’re coming without a car.