DATE: Sunday, March 16, 1997                TAG: 9703140085

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E8   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   32 lines

PASSES AVAILABLE TO SEE PICASSO EXHIBIT IN D.C.

ADVANCE PASSES for weekend admission to ``Picasso: The Early Years, 1892-1906'' will be issued beginning today.

The Picasso exhibit opens March 30 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it will remain through July 27.

The show examines the earliest work of this most influential 20th century artist through 150 paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures created between ages 11 and 25.

Admission is free, but passes are required to see this show on weekends and on federal holidays, which occur during the exhibit on May 26 and July 4. No passes are needed on weekdays.

Passes can be obtained free of charge at the National Gallery's east building pass desk, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue, during museum hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Six passes per person is the limit.

Same-day passes on weekends and holidays may be obtained at the pass desk, but on a first-come, first-served basis.

Passes also are available at all TicketMaster locations for a service charge of $2 per pass. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

Picasso's ``Lady in Blue, Madrid, 1901'' is part of the National

Gallery exhibit.

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