The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national
art museum
An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. A ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, United States, located on the
National Mall
The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...
, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at
Constitution Avenue
Constitution Avenue is a major east–west street in the northwest and northeast quadrants of the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was originally known as B Street, and its western section was greatly lengthened and widened betw ...
NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in 1937 for the American people by a joint resolution of the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
.
Andrew W. Mellon
Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylva ...
donated a substantial art collection and funds for construction. The core collection includes major works of art donated by
Paul Mellon
Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 1, 1999) was an American philanthropist and an owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall ...
,
Ailsa Mellon Bruce
Ailsa Mellon Bruce (June 28, 1901 – August 25, 1969) was a prominent American socialite and philanthropist who established the Avalon Foundation.
Early life
Ailsa was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 28, 1901. She was the daughter of t ...
,
Lessing J. Rosenwald
Lessing Julius Rosenwald (February 10, 1891 – June 24, 1979) was an American businessman, a collector of rare books and art, a chess patron, and a philanthropist.
Biography
Born in Chicago, Lessing J. Rosenwald was the eldest son of Julius R ...
,
Samuel Henry Kress
Samuel Henry Kress (July 23, 1863 – September 22, 1955) was a businessman, philanthropist, and founder of the S. H. Kress & Co. five and ten cent store chain. With his fortune, Kress amassed one of the most significant collections of Italian R ...
,
Rush Harrison Kress,
Peter Arrell Browne Widener
Peter Arrell Browne Widener (November 13, 1834 – November 6, 1915) was an American businessman, art collector, and patriarch of the Widener family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Widener was ranked #29 on the ''American Heritage'' list of the f ...
,
Joseph E. Widener
Joseph Early Widener (August 19, 1871 – October 26, 1943) was a wealthy American art collector who was a founding benefactor of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. A major figure in thoroughbred horse racing, he was head of New ...
, and
Chester Dale
Chester Dale (May 3, 1883 – December 16, 1962) was an American banker and patron of the arts. Dale earned large sums from working for the New York Stock Exchange, allowing him to collect 19th and 20th-century French paintings. Although he consi ...
. The Gallery's collection of paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture, medals, and decorative arts traces the development of Western Art from the Middle Ages to the present, including the only painting by
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
in the Americas and the largest mobile created by
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static "stabiles", and his ...
.
The Gallery's campus includes the original neoclassical West Building designed by
John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 – August 27, 1937) was an American architect whose firm is widely known for designing major public buildings, including the National Archives and Records Administration building (completed in 1935), the Jeffe ...
, which is linked underground to the modern East Building, designed by
I. M. Pei
Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...
, and the
Sculpture Garden
A sculpture garden or sculpture park is an outdoor garden or park which includes the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaped surroundings.
A sculpture garden may be private, owned by a ...
. The Gallery often presents temporary special exhibitions spanning the world and the history of art. It is one of the
largest museums in North America.
For the breadth, scope, and magnitude of its collections, the National Gallery is widely considered to be one of the greatest museums in the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
, often ranking alongside the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
and
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
in New York City, the
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
in Chicago, Illinois, and the
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. Of the top three art museums in the United States by annual visitors, it is the only one that has no admission fee. In 2021 it attracted 1,704,606 visitors, and ranked fifth on the
list of most visited art museums
This article lists the most-visited art museums in the world in 2021. The primary source is ''The Art Newspaper'' annual survey of the number of visitors to major art museums in 2021, published 28 March 2022.
Total attendance in the top one hun ...
in the world.
History
Origins
Andrew W. Mellon
Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylva ...
,
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
banker and
Treasury Secretary
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
from 1921 until 1932, began gathering a private collection of
paintings and sculptures during World War I. During the late 1920s, Mellon decided to direct his collecting efforts towards the establishment of a new national gallery for the United States.
In 1930, partly for tax reasons, Mellon formed the A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, which was to be the legal owner of works intended for the gallery. In 1930–1931, the Trust made its first major acquisition,
21 paintings from the
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...
in St. Petersburg as part of the
Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings
The Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings in 1930 and 1931 resulted in the departure of some of the most valuable paintings from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad to Western museums. Several of the paintings had been in the H ...
, including such masterpieces as
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
's ''
Alba Madonna
The ''Alba Madonna'' is a tondo (circular) oil on wood transferred to canvas painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael, created ''c.'' 1511, depicting Mary, Jesus, and John the Baptist in a typical Italian countryside.
After a ce ...
,''
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
's ''
Venus with a Mirror
''Venus with a Mirror'' (c. 1555) is a painting by Titian, now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and it is considered to be one of the collection's highlights.
The pose of the Venus resembles the classical statues of the Venus de' ...
'', and
Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...
's ''
Annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
''.
In 1929 Mellon had initiated contact with the recently appointed Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
,
Charles Greeley Abbot
Charles Greeley Abbot (May 31, 1872 – December 17, 1973) was an American astrophysicist and the fifth secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, serving from 1928 until 1944. Abbot went from being director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Obs ...
. Mellon was appointed in 1931 as a Commissioner of the Institution's National Gallery of Art. When the director of the Gallery retired, Mellon asked Abbot not to appoint a successor, as he proposed to endow a new building with funds for expansion of the collections.
However, Mellon's trial for tax evasion, centering on the Trust and the Hermitage paintings, caused the plan to be modified. In 1935, Mellon announced in ''
The Washington Star
''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Star ...
'' his intention to establish a new gallery for old masters, separate from the Smithsonian. When asked by Abbot, he explained that the project was in the hands of the Trust and that its decisions were partly dependent on "the attitude of the Government towards the gift".
In January 1937, Mellon formally offered to create the new Gallery. On his birthday, 24 March 1937, an Act of Congress accepted the collection and building funds (provided through the Trust), and approved the construction of a museum on the National Mall.
The new gallery was to be effectively self-governing, not controlled by the Smithsonian, but took the old name "National Gallery of Art" while the Smithsonian's gallery would be renamed the "National Collection of Fine Arts" (now the
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...
).
Construction and later history
The museum stands on the former site of the
Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station
The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station, also known as Pennsylvania Railroad Station, was a railroad station that was owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad and operated by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad in Washington, D.C., from July 2, 1 ...
, where in 1881 a disgruntled office seeker,
Charles Guiteau
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
, shot President
James Garfield
James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...
(see
James A. Garfield assassination
James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, was shot at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C., at 9:30 am on Saturday, July 2, 1881. He died in Elberon, New Jersey, 79 days later on September 19, 1881. ...
).
The station was demolished in 1908 because it did not conform to the
McMillan Plan
The McMillan Plan (formally titled The Report of the Senate Park Commission. The Improvement of the Park System of the District of Columbia) is a comprehensive planning document for the development of the monumental core and the park system of Was ...
for the Mall. In 1918,
temporary war buildings were constructed on the site; these were demolished by 1921 to construct the foundation of the
George Washington Memorial Building
The George Washington Memorial Building or George Washington Victory Memorial Building was a national building project supported by the ''George Washington Memorial Association'' which started in 1897 with a building project designed in 1914. The ...
, which was never completed. The site was then reassigned to the new National Gallery of Art.
Designed by architect
John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 – August 27, 1937) was an American architect whose firm is widely known for designing major public buildings, including the National Archives and Records Administration building (completed in 1935), the Jeffe ...
, the new structure was completed and accepted by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
on behalf of the American people on March 17, 1941. At the time of its inception it was the largest marble structure in the world. Neither Mellon nor Pope lived to see the museum completed; both died in late August 1937, only two months after excavation had begun.
As anticipated by Mellon, the creation of the National Gallery encouraged the donation of other substantial art collections by a number of private donors. Founding benefactors included such individuals as
Paul Mellon
Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 1, 1999) was an American philanthropist and an owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall ...
,
Samuel H. Kress
Samuel Henry Kress (July 23, 1863 – September 22, 1955) was a businessman, philanthropist, and founder of the S. H. Kress & Co. variety store, five and ten cent store chain. With his fortune, Kress amassed one of the most significant collection ...
,
Rush H. Kress,
Ailsa Mellon Bruce
Ailsa Mellon Bruce (June 28, 1901 – August 25, 1969) was a prominent American socialite and philanthropist who established the Avalon Foundation.
Early life
Ailsa was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 28, 1901. She was the daughter of t ...
,
Chester Dale
Chester Dale (May 3, 1883 – December 16, 1962) was an American banker and patron of the arts. Dale earned large sums from working for the New York Stock Exchange, allowing him to collect 19th and 20th-century French paintings. Although he consi ...
,
Joseph Widener
Joseph Early Widener (August 19, 1871 – October 26, 1943) was a wealthy American art collector who was a founding benefactor of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. A major figure in Thoroughbred horse race, thoroughbred horse ra ...
,
Lessing J. Rosenwald
Lessing Julius Rosenwald (February 10, 1891 – June 24, 1979) was an American businessman, a collector of rare books and art, a chess patron, and a philanthropist.
Biography
Born in Chicago, Lessing J. Rosenwald was the eldest son of Julius R ...
and
Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch.
The Gallery's East Building was constructed in the 1970s on much of the remaining land left over from the original congressional action. Andrew Mellon's children,
Paul Mellon
Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 1, 1999) was an American philanthropist and an owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall ...
and
Ailsa Mellon Bruce
Ailsa Mellon Bruce (June 28, 1901 – August 25, 1969) was a prominent American socialite and philanthropist who established the Avalon Foundation.
Early life
Ailsa was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 28, 1901. She was the daughter of t ...
, funded the building. Designed by architect I. M. Pei, the contemporary structure was completed in 1978 and was opened on June 1 of that year by President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
. The new building was built to house the Museum's collection of modern paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints, as well as study and research centers and offices. The design received a National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1981.
The final addition to the complex is the
National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden
The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden is the most recent addition to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is located on the National Mall between the National Gallery's West Building and the Smithsonian ...
. Completed and opened to the public on May 23, 1999, the location provides an outdoor setting for exhibiting a number of large pieces from the Museum's contemporary sculpture collection.
In 2011, an extensive refurbishment and renovation of the French galleries were undertaken. As part of the celebration of the reopening of this wing, organist
Alexander Frey
Alexander Frey, KM (SMOM), KStJ, is an American symphony orchestra conductor, virtuoso organist, pianist, harpsichordist and composer. Frey is in great demand as one of the world's most versatile conductors, and enjoys success in the conce ...
performed 4 sold-out recitals of music of France in one weekend in the French Gallery.
Operations
The National Gallery of Art is supported through a private-public partnership. The United States federal government provides funds, through annual appropriations, to support the museum's operations and maintenance. All artwork, as well as special programs, are provided through private donations and funds. The museum is not part of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
.
Noted directors of the National Gallery have included
David E. Finley, Jr.
David Edward Finley Jr. (September 1, 1890 – February 1, 1977) was an American cultural leader during the middle third of the 20th century. He was the first director of the National Gallery of Art, the founding chairman of the National Trust ...
(1938-1956),
John Walker (1956–1968), and
J. Carter Brown
John Carter Brown III (October 8, 1934 – June 17, 2002) was the director of the U.S. National Gallery of Art from 1969 to 1992 and a leading figure in American intellectual life. Under Brown's direction, the National Gallery became one of the ...
(1968–1993).
Earl A. "Rusty" Powell III was named director in 1993. In March 2019 he was succeeded by
Kaywin Feldman
Kaywin Feldman is an American archeologist and director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Named in December 11, 2018, Feldman took over from Earl A. Powell III in March 2019. She is the National Gallery of Art's first woman ...
, past director and president of the
Minneapolis Institute of Art
The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...
. The museum hired
Evelyn Carmen Ramos, the first woman and the first person of color to be the chief curatorial and conservation officer, in 2021.
The president of the museum is billionaire businessman
Mitchell Rales
Mitchell Rales (born 1956) is an American billionaire businessman, and a collector of modern and contemporary art. He co-founded Danaher Corporation in 1983 and is the chairman of its executive committee. Rales is one of the Washington, D.C. reg ...
and its chairperson is
Sharon Rockefeller.
Entry to both buildings of the National Gallery of Art is free of charge. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. It is closed on December 25 and January 1.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the National Gallery was largely closed to the public. However, visitors were able to schedule appointments to access the west building in small numbers.
Architecture
![Walkway to West Building and Cascade Cafe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Walkway_to_West_Building_and_Cascade_Cafe.jpg)
The museum comprises two buildings: the West Building (1941) and the East Building (1978), linked by an underground passage. The West Building, composed of
pink Tennessee marble, was designed in 1937 by architect
John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 – August 27, 1937) was an American architect whose firm is widely known for designing major public buildings, including the National Archives and Records Administration building (completed in 1935), the Jeffe ...
in a
neoclassical style (as is Pope's other notable building in Washington, D.C., the
Jefferson Memorial
The Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial built in Washington, D.C. between 1939 and 1943 in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, a central intellectual force behind the Am ...
). Designed in the form of an elongated H, the building is centered on a domed rotunda modeled on the interior of the
Pantheon
Pantheon may refer to:
* Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building
Arts and entertainment Comics
*Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization
* ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...
in Rome. Extending east and west from the rotunda, a pair of skylit sculpture halls provide its main circulation spine. Bright garden courts provide a counterpoint to the long main axis of the building.
![Indoorgarden-nationalgallery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Indoorgarden-nationalgallery.jpg)
The West Building has an extensive collection of paintings and sculptures by European masters from the
medieval period
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
through the late 19th century, as well as pre-20th century works by American artists. Highlights of the collection include many paintings by
Jan Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...
,
Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
,
Claude Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
,
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...
, and
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
.
In contrast, the design of the East Building, by architect
I. M. Pei
Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...
, is geometrical, dividing the trapezoidal shape of the site into two triangles: one contains public galleries, and the other houses a library, offices, and a study center. The triangles establish a motif that is echoed throughout the building, realized in every dimension.
The East Building's central feature is a high atrium designed as an open interior court that is enclosed by a sculptural space spanning . The atrium is centered on the same axis that forms the circulation spine for the West Building and is constructed in the same Tennessee marble.
However, in 2005 the joints attaching the marble panels to the walls began to show signs of strain, creating a risk that panels might fall onto visitors below. In 2008, NGA officials decided that it had become necessary to remove and reinstall all of the panels. The renovation was completed in 2016.
The East Building focuses on
modern
Modern may refer to:
History
* Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Phil ...
and
contemporary art
Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...
, with a collection including works by
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
,
Henri Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...
,
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his " drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a hor ...
,
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
,
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. Hi ...
,
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static "stabiles", and his ...
, a 1977 mural by
Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American Abstract Expressionism, abstract expressionist Painting, painter, printmaker, and editor of ''The Dada Painters and Poets: an Anthology''. He was one of the youngest of th ...
and works by many other artists. The East Building also contains the main offices of the NGA and a large research facility, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA). Among the highlights of the East Building in 2012 was an exhibition of
Barnett Newman
Barnett Newman (January 29, 1905 – July 4, 1970) was an American artist. He has been critically regarded as one of the major figures of abstract expressionism, and one of the foremost color field painters. His paintings explore the sense o ...
's ''The Stations of the Cross'' series of 14 black and white paintings (1958–66). Newman painted them after he had recovered from a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
; they are usually regarded as the peak of his achievement. The series has also been seen as a memorial to the victims of the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
.
The two buildings are connected by a walkway beneath 4th street, called "the Concourse" on the museum's map. In 2008, the National Gallery of Art commissioned American artist
Leo Villareal
Leo Villareal (born 1967) is an American artist. His work combines LED lights and encoded computer programming to create illuminated displays. He is living and working in New York City.
Early life and education
Villareal was born in 1967 in A ...
to transform the Concourse into an artistic installation. Today, ''Multiverse'' is the largest and most complex light sculpture by Villareal featuring approximately 41,000 computer-programmed LED nodes that run through channels along the entire -long space. The concourse also includes the food court and a gift shop.
The final element of the National Gallery of Art complex, the Sculpture Garden was completed in 1999 after more than 30 years of planning. To the west of the West Building, on the opposite side of
Seventh Street, the Sculpture Garden was designed by landscape architect
Laurie Olin
Laurie Olin (born 1938, Marshfield, Wisconsin) is an American landscape architect. He has worked on landscape design projects at diverse scales, from private residential gardens to public parks and corporate/museum campus plans.
Early life
Olin g ...
as an outdoor gallery for monumental modern sculpture.
The Sculpture Garden contains plantings of Native American species of canopy and flowering trees, shrubs, ground covers, and perennials. A circular reflecting pool and fountain form the center of its design, which arching pathways of granite and crushed stone complement. (The pool becomes an ice-skating rink during the winter.) The sculptures exhibited in the surrounding landscaped area include pieces by
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...
,
David Smith,
Mark Di Suvero
Marco Polo di Suvero (born September 18, 1933, in Shanghai, China), better known as Mark di Suvero, is an abstract expressionist sculptor and 2010 National Medal of Arts recipient.
Biography Early life and education
Marco Polo di Suvero was bor ...
,
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. Hi ...
,
Sol LeWitt
Solomon "Sol" LeWitt (September 9, 1928 – April 8, 2007) was an American artist linked to various movements, including conceptual art and minimalism.
LeWitt came to fame in the late 1960s with his wall drawings and "structures" (a term he pref ...
,
Tony Smith,
Roxy Paine,
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...
,
Louise Bourgeois
Louise Joséphine Bourgeois (; 25 December 191131 May 2010) was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a varie ...
, and
Hector Guimard
Hector Guimard (, 10 March 1867 – 20 May 1942) was a French architect and designer, and a prominent figure of the Art Nouveau style. He achieved early fame with his design for the Castel Beranger, the first Art Nouveau apartment building ...
.
Renovations
The NGA's West Building was renovated from 2007 to 2009. Although some galleries closed for periods of time, others remained open.
[Boyle, Katherine and Parker, Lonnae O'Neal. "National Gallery of Art Announces $30 Million Renovation to East Building." ''Washington Post.'' March 12, 2013.](_blank)
Accessed 2013-03-13.
After congressional testimony that the East Building suffered from "systematic structural failures", NGA adopted a Master Renovations Plan in 1999. This plan established the timeline for closing the building, and planned for the renovation of the electronic security systems, elevators, and
HVAC
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...
.
Space between the ceilings of existing galleries and the building's skylights (which was never completed when the building was constructed in 1978)
would be renovated into two, high, hexagonal Tower Galleries. The galleries would have a combined of space and will be lit by
skylights
A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes.
History
Open ...
. A rooftop sculpture garden would also be added. NGA officials said that the Tower Galleries would probably house modern art, and the creation of a distinct "
Rothko
Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Latv ...
Room" was possible.
Beginning in 2011, NGA undertook an $85 million restoration of the East Building's façade.
[Kelly, John. "Why National Gallery's East Building Shed Its Pink Marble Skin." ''Washington Post.'' February 21, 2012.](_blank)
Accessed 2013-03-13. The East Building is clad in thick pink marble panels. The panels are held about away from the wall by
stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
anchors. Gravity holds the panel in the bottom anchors (which are placed at each corner), while "button head" anchors (stainless steel posts with large, flat heads) at the top corners keep the panel upright.
Mortar was used on the gravity anchors to level the stones. Joints of flexible colored
neoprene
Neoprene (also polychloroprene) is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene.Werner Obrecht, Jean-Pierre Lambert, Michael Happ, Christiane Oppenheimer-Stix, John Dunn and Ralf Krüger "Rubber, 4. Emulsion R ...
were placed between the panels. This system was designed to allow each panel to hang independent of its neighbors, and NGA officials say they are not aware of any other panel system like it.
However, many panels were accidentally mortared together. Seasonal heating and cooling of the façade, infiltration of moisture, and shrinkage of the building's structural concrete by over time caused extensive damage to the façade. In 2005, regular maintenance showed that some panels were cracked or significantly damaged, while others leaned by more than out from the building (threatening to fall).
The NGA hired the
structural engineering
Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and muscles' that create the form and shape of man-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and cal ...
firm Robert Silman Associates to determine the cause of the problem.
[Dietsch, Deborah K. "National Gallery of Art's Famed East Building Gets a Facelift." ''Washington Business Journal.'' February 3, 2012.](_blank)
Accessed 2013-03-13. Although the Gallery began raising private funds to fix the issue,
eventually federal funding was used to repair the building.
In 2012, the NGA chose a joint venture,
Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, Balfour Beatty works ac ...
/Smoot, to complete the repairs.
Anodized
Anodizing is an electrolytic passivation process used to increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal parts.
The process is called ''anodizing'' because the part to be treated forms the anode electrode of an electro ...
aluminum anchors replaced the stainless steel ones, and the top corner anchors were moved to the center of the top edge of each stone. The neoprene joints were removed and new colored
silicone
A silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer made up of siloxane (−R2Si−O−SiR2−, where R = organic group). They are typically colorless oils or rubber-like substances. Silicones are used in sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medicine, cooking ...
gaskets installed, and leveling screws rather than mortar used to keep the panels square. Work began in November 2011,
and originally was scheduled to end in 2014.
By February 2012, however, the contractor said work on the façade would end in late 2013, and site restoration would take place in 2014.
The East Building remained open throughout the project.
In March 2013, the National Gallery of Art announced a $68.4 million renovation to the East Building. This included $38.4 million to refurbish the interior mechanical plant of the structure,
[Boyle, Katherine. "National Gallery Sees Long-Term Benefit in Long Closing of East Building." ''Washington Post.'' March 13, 2013.](_blank)
Accessed 2013-03-22. and $30 million to create new exhibition space.
Because the angular interior space of the East Building made it impossible to close off galleries,
the renovation required all but the atrium and offices to close by December 2013. The structure remained closed for three years. The architectural firm of Hartman-Cox oversaw both aspects of the renovation.
A group of benefactors — which included Victoria and Roger Sant,
Mitchell and Emily Rales, and
David Rubenstein
David Mark Rubenstein (born August 11, 1949) is an American billionaire businessman. A former government official and lawyer, he is a co-founder and co-chairman of the private equity firm The Carlyle Group,[Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...]
'' reported that the donation was one of the largest the NGA had received in a decade.
NGA staff said that they would use the closure to conserve artwork, plan purchases, and develop exhibitions. Plans for renovating conservation, construction, exhibition prep, groundskeeping, office, storage, and other internal facilities were also ready, but would not be implemented for many years.
Buildings
File:Nga west building.jpg, The West Building soon after construction, looking southeast from the National Mall
File:NatGal.jpg, North face of the West Building, with the west side of the East Building and the United States Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...
in background
File:National-Gallery-of-Art-West-Building-John-Russell-Pope-National-Mall-Washington-DC-04-2014.jpg, South face of the West Building (2014)
File:National Gallery of Art interior.jpg, Rotunda of the West Building beneath dome (2004)
File:Nationalgalleryoculus.jpg, Oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following
Architecture
* Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American ...
of the West Building dome (2008)
File:DCgallerywest.jpg, West Building sculpture gallery (2007)
File:Nga, cortile ovest.JPG, West Building garden court (2010)
File:National Gallery of Art map.jpg, Satellite image of National Gallery of Art grounds and surrounding streets (2002)
File:Multiverse light sculpture - HDR.jpg, Moving walkway
A moving walkway, also known as an autowalk, moving pavement, moving sidewalk, people-mover, travolator, or travelator, is a slow-moving conveyor mechanism that transports people across a horizontal or inclined plane over a short to medium distan ...
and light sculpture
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 ter ...
in concourse beneath 4th Street connecting East and West Buildings (2016)
File:West Building of the National Gallery of Art.JPG, Center of West Building plaza, looking west towards West Building (2010)
File:Fountain - National Gallery of Art's West Building.JPG, Fountain in West Building plaza (2010)
File:National Gallery, Concourse - fountain.JPG, View of fountain from concourse beneath West Building plaza (2013)
File:NGA-pjt1.jpg, Center of West Building plaza, looking east towards entrance of East Building (2000)
File:National Gallery of Art - East Building.JPG, South face of East Building, looking northwest from southeast corner (2010)
File:National Gallery of Art DC 2007ex.jpg, Southwest corner of East Building, looking east (2007)
File:National-Gallery-of-Art-East-Building-I-M-Pei-National-Mall-Washington-DC-Apr-2014.jpg, Southwest corner of East Building during renovation, looking northeast (2014)
File:East Building of the National Gallery of Art, atrium.jpg, East Building atrium (2007)
File:National Gallery of Art DC 2007i.jpg, East Building atrium (2007)
Collection
![The Concert A22894](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/The_Concert_A22894.jpg)
The NGA's collection galleries and Sculpture Garden display European and American paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, and decorative arts. Paintings in the permanent collection date from the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
to the present. The
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
collection includes two panels from
Duccio
Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ) was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religious buildings around Italy. Ducc ...
's ''
Maesta'', the
tondo of the ''
Adoration of the Magi
The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, ...
'' by
Fra Angelico
Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...
and
Filippo Lippi
Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento (15th century) and a Carmelite Priest.
Biography
Lippi was born in Florence in 1406 to Tommaso, a butcher, and his wife. He was orp ...
, a
Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, when he was rediscovered ...
work on the same subject,
Giorgione
Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...
's ''
Allendale Nativity'',
Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...
's ''
The Feast of the Gods
''The Feast of the Gods'' (Italian: ''Il festino degli dei'') is an oil painting by the Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, with substantial additions in stages to the left and center landscape by Dosso Dossi and Titian. It is one of the ...
'', ''
Ginevra de' Benci
''Ginevra de' Benci'' is a portrait painting by Leonardo da Vinci of the 15th-century Florentine aristocrat Ginevra de' Benci (born ). Exhibited at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., it is the only painting by Leonardo on public ...
'' (the only painting by
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
in the Americas) and groups of works by
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
and
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
.
The collections include paintings by many European masters, including a version of ''
Saint Martin and the Beggar,'' by
El Greco
Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...
, and works by
Matthias Grünewald
Matthias Grünewald ( – 31 August 1528) was a German Renaissance painter of religious works who ignored Renaissance classicism to continue the style of late medieval Central European art into the 16th century. His first name is also given ...
,
Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known ...
,
Rogier van der Weyden
Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...
,
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
,
Frans Hals
Frans Hals the Elder (, , ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, chiefly of individual and group portraits and of genre works, who lived and worked in Haarlem.
Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century group ...
,
Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
,
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer ( , , #Pronunciation of name, see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period Painting, painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle class, middle-class life. ...
,
Francisco Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...
,
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic orthodoxy against the ...
, and
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...
, among others. The collection of sculpture and decorative arts includes such works as the ''Chalice'' of
Abbot Suger
Suger (; la, Sugerius; 1081 – 13 January 1151) was a French abbot, statesman, and historian. He once lived at the court of Pope Calixtus II in Maguelonne, France. He later became abbot of St-Denis, and became a close confidant to King Lo ...
of
St-Denis and a collection of work by
Auguste Rodin
François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
and
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings.
Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is es ...
. Other highlights of the permanent collection include the second of the two original sets of
Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history paintin ...
's series of paintings titled ''
The Voyage of Life
''The Voyage of Life'' is a series of four paintings created by the American artist Thomas Cole in 1840 and reproduced with minor alterations in 1842, representing an allegory of the four stages of human life. The paintings, ''Childhood'', ''Yout ...
'', (the first set is at the
Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute
The Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute (MWPAI) is a regional fine arts center founded in 1919 and located in Utica, New York. The institute has three program divisions:
*Museum of art
*Performing arts
*School of art
Museum of art
The museum ...
in
Utica, New York
Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...
) and the original version of ''
Watson and the Shark'' by
John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was probably born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Anglo-Irish. Afte ...
(two other versions are in the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...
and the
Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the list of largest art museums, largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation a ...
).
The National Gallery's print collection comprises 75,000 prints, in addition to rare illustrated books. It includes collections of works by
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
,
Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
,
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Piranesi (; also known as simply Piranesi; 4 October 1720 – 9 November 1778) was an Italian Classical archaeologist, architect, and artist, famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric " ...
,
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
,
Mary Cassatt
Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar De ...
,
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images.
His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...
,
Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...
, and
Robert Rauschenberg
Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...
. The collection began with 400 prints donated by five collectors in 1941. In 1942,
Joseph E. Widener
Joseph Early Widener (August 19, 1871 – October 26, 1943) was a wealthy American art collector who was a founding benefactor of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. A major figure in thoroughbred horse racing, he was head of New ...
donated his entire collection of nearly 2,000 works. In 1943,
Lessing Rosenwald
Lessing Julius Rosenwald (February 10, 1891 – June 24, 1979) was an American businessman, a collector of rare books and art, a chess patron, and a philanthropist.
Biography
Born in Chicago, Lessing J. Rosenwald was the eldest son of Julius R ...
donated his collection of 8,000 old master and modern prints; between 1943 and 1979, he donated almost 14,000 more works. In 2008, Dave and
Reba White Williams
Reba White Williams (born May 21, 1936), is an American author, philanthropist, and expert on fine art prints. As a novelist, her influences include Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. She and her husband, Dave H. Williams, built the worl ...
donated their collection of more than 5,200 American prints.
In 2013, the NGA purchased from a private French collection
Gerard van Honthorst
Gerard van Honthorst (Dutch: ''Gerrit van Honthorst''; 4 November 1592 – 27 April 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painting, Dutch Golden Age painter who became known for his depiction of artificially lit scenes, eventually receiving the nickn ...
's 1623 painting, ''The Concert'', which had not been publicly viewed since 1795. After initially displaying the ''The Concert'' in a special installation in the West Building, the NGA moved the painting to a permanent display in the museum's Dutch and Flemish galleries. Art experts estimated the sale price of ''The Concert'' at $20 million, though the NGA did not reveal the amount that it had paid.
[Vogel, Caro]
"National Gallery Acquires a van Honthorst Masterwork."
''New York Times.'' November 21, 2013. Accessed 2013-11-22.
Highlights of the collection
File:Annunciation - Jan van Eyck - 1434 - NG Wash DC.jpg, ''Annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
'', van Eyck, c. 1434
File:Rogier van der Weyden - Portrait of a Lady - Google Art Project.jpg, Rogier van der Weyden
Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...
, ''Portrait of a Lady
''The Portrait of a Lady'' is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial (literature), serial in ''The Atlantic Monthly'' and ''Macmillan's Magazine'' in 1880–81 and then as a book in 1881. It is one of James's most popular novels an ...
,'' c. 1460
File:Giorgione - Adoration of the Shepherds - National Gallery of Art.jpg, Giorgione
Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...
, '' Adoration of the Shepherds,'' c. 1500
File:Raffaello Madonna Cowper.jpg, Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
, '' Cowper Madonna'', 1504–05
File:Raphael - Saint George and the Dragon - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Saint George and the Dragon
In a legend, Saint Georgea soldier venerated in Christianitydefeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a human tr ...
'' by Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
, 1506
File:Tizian 080.jpg, Giorgione
Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...
and Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
, ''Portrait of a Venetian Nobleman'', c. 1507
File:Raphael - The Alba Madonna - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Alba Madonna
The ''Alba Madonna'' is a tondo (circular) oil on wood transferred to canvas painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael, created ''c.'' 1511, depicting Mary, Jesus, and John the Baptist in a typical Italian countryside.
After a ce ...
'' by Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
, 1510
File:Feastofthegods.jpg, Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...
and Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
, ''The Feast of the Gods
''The Feast of the Gods'' (Italian: ''Il festino degli dei'') is an oil painting by the Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, with substantial additions in stages to the left and center landscape by Dosso Dossi and Titian. It is one of the ...
,'' c. 1514
File:Titian - Venus with a Mirror - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Venus with a Mirror
''Venus with a Mirror'' (c. 1555) is a painting by Titian, now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and it is considered to be one of the collection's highlights.
The pose of the Venus resembles the classical statues of the Venus de' ...
'' by Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
, c. 1555
File:El Greco 042.jpg, El Greco
Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...
, ''Laocoön
Laocoön (; grc, , Laokóōn, , gen.: ), is a figure in Greek and Roman mythology and the Epic Cycle. Laocoon was a Trojan priest. He and his two young sons were attacked by giant serpents, sent by the gods. The story of Laocoön has been the s ...
'', 1604–1616
File:Nicolas Poussin - The Assumption of the Virgin.JPG, Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a ...
, ''The Assumption of the Virgin'', c. 1626
File:Rembrandt van Rijn - The Mill - Google Art Project.jpg, Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
, ''The Mill'', 1648
File:Rembrandt van Rijn - Self-Portrait - Google Art Project.jpg, Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
, ''Self Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar
''Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar'' is a 1659 oil on canvas painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt, one of over 40 self-portraits by Rembrandt. It has been noted as a self-portrayal of subtle and somber qualities, a work in which ma ...
'', 1659
File:Johannes Vermeer - A Lady Writing - Google Art Project.jpg, Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer ( , , #Pronunciation of name, see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period Painting, painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle class, middle-class life. ...
, ''A Lady Writing a Letter
''A Lady Writing a Letter'' (also known as ''A Lady Writing'') is an oil on canvas painting attributed to 17th century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. It is believed to have been completed by artist during his mature phase, in the mid-to-late 1660 ...
,'' 1665-1666
File:Fragonard, The Reader.jpg, Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (; 5 April 1732
(birth/baptism certificate)
– 22 August 1806) was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific ar ...
, ''A Young Girl Reading
''Young Girl Reading'', or ''The Reader'' (french: La Liseuse), is an 18th-century oil painting by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. It depicts an unidentified girl seated in profile, wearing a lemon yellow dress with white ruff collar and cuffs and purple ...
'', c. 1776
File:Thomas Gainsborough - Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan .jpg, Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...
, '' Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan'', 1787
File:Ingres Marcotte d-Argenteuil.jpg, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic orthodoxy against the ...
, ''Marcotte d'Argenteuil'', 1810
File:John Constable - Wivenhoe Park, Essex - Google Art Project.jpg, John Constable
John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...
, Wivenhoe Park
Wivenhoe Park is a landscaped green space of more than at the eastern edge of Colchester, England. It is the site of Wivenhoe House, a four-star hotel, based in an eighteenth-century Grade II listed house. Wivenhoe House is also home to the Edg ...
, 1816
File:Columbus and His Son at La Rábida.JPG, Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...
, ''Columbus and His Son at La Rábida'', 1838
File:The Veiled Nun.jpg, Italian, ''The Veiled Nun
''The Veiled Nun'' is a marble bust depicting a female figure that was sculpted by an unidentified Italian workshop in c. 1863. Despite its name, the woman depicted is not a nun. The bust was popular with visitors to the Corcoran Gallery of Art i ...
'', c. 1863
File:Édouard Manet - Le Vieux Musicien.jpg, Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.
Born ...
, '' The Old Musician'', 1862
File:Claude Monet - Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son - Google Art Project.jpg, Claude Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
, ''Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son
''Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son'', sometimes known as ''The Stroll'' (French: ''La Promenade'') is an oil-on-canvas painting by Claude Monet from 1875. The Impressionist work depicts his wife Camille Monet and their son Jean M ...
'', 1875
File:Edouard Manet 039.jpg, Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.
Born ...
, ''The Plum
''Plum Brandy'', also known as ''The Plum'' (French: ''La Prune''), is an oil painting by Édouard Manet. It is undated but thought to have been painted about 1877.
The painting measures by . It depicts a woman seated alone at a table in a caf ...
,'' 1878
File:Claude Monet - Monet's garden at Vétheuil (1880).jpg, Claude Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
, ''The Artist's Garden at Vétheuil'', 1880
File:Vincent van Gogh - National Gallery of Art.JPG, Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...
, ''Self-portrait
A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...
'', August 1889
File:Paul Gauguin - Self-Portrait with Halo and Snake.jpg, Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...
, ''Self-Portrait with Halo and Snake
''Self-Portrait with Halo and Snake'', also known as ''Self-Portrait'', is an 1889 oil on wood, oil-on-wood painting by French artist Paul Gauguin, which represents his late Brittany period in the fishing village of Le Pouldu in northwestern F ...
,'' 1889
File:Paul Cézanne 088.jpg, Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...
, ''Boy in a Red Waistcoat,'' 1888–1890
File:Girl in White by Vincent Van Gogh - NGA.jpg, Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...
, '' Girl in White'', 1890
File:Rouen Cathedral, West Facade, Sunlight.JPG, Claude Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
, ''Rouen Cathedral, West Facade, Sunlight'', 1894
File:Matisse-Open-Window.jpg, Henri Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...
, '' Open Window, Collioure'', 1905
File:Family of Saltimbanques.JPG, Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, ''Family of Saltimbanques
''Family of Saltimbanques'' (French: ') is a 1905 oil on canvas painting by Pablo Picasso. The work depicts six saltimbanques, a kind of itinerant circus performer, in a desolate landscape. It is considered the masterpiece of Picasso's Rose Peri ...
'', 1905
File:The Equatorial Jungle.JPG, Henri Rousseau
Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (; 21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910)
at the Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism ...
, ''The Procession, Seville'', 1912
File:Albert Gleizes, 1912-13, Les Joueurs de football (Football Players), oil on canvas, 225.4 x 183 cm, National Gallery of Art.jpg, Albert Gleizes
Albert Gleizes (; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a French artist, theoretician, philosopher, a self-proclaimed founder of Cubism and an influence on the School of Paris. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first major treatise on ...
, '' Les Joueurs de football (Football Players)'', 1912–13
File:Pablo Picasso, 1918, Still Life, oil on canvas, 97.2 x 130.2 cm, National Gallery of Art.jpg, Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, ''Still Life'', 1918
Selected highlights from the American collection
File:Watsonandtheshark-original.jpg, John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was probably born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Anglo-Irish. Afte ...
, '' Watson and the Shark,'' (original version), 1778
File:GSskater.jpg, Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...
, ''The Skater
''The Skater'' is a 1782 oil on canvas portrait of William Grant (Master of the Rolls), Sir William Grant by the American artist Gilbert Stuart. Painted while Stuart was living in London, it was the work that first brought the artist broad recogn ...
'', 1782
File:Edward Savage - The Washington Family - Google Art Project.jpg, Edward Savage, ''The Washington Family
''The Washington Family'' by Edward Savage is a life-sized group portrait of the Washington family, including U.S. President George Washington, First Lady Martha Washington, two of her grandchildren and a black servant, most likely an enslave ...
'' 1789-1796
File:Edward Hicks - Peaceable Kingdom.jpg, Edward Hicks
Edward Hicks (April 4, 1780 – August 23, 1849) was an American folk painter and distinguished religious minister of the Society of Friends (aka "Quakers"). He became a Quaker icon because of his paintings.
Biography Early life
Edward ...
, ''Peaceable Kingdom'', c. 1834
File:Thomas Cole - The Voyage of Life Childhood, 1842 (National Gallery of Art).jpg, Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history paintin ...
, ''The Voyage of Life
''The Voyage of Life'' is a series of four paintings created by the American artist Thomas Cole in 1840 and reproduced with minor alterations in 1842, representing an allegory of the four stages of human life. The paintings, ''Childhood'', ''Yout ...
:'' ''Childhood''
File:Thomas Cole - The Voyage of Life Youth, 1842 (National Gallery of Art).jpg, Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history paintin ...
, ''The Voyage of Life
''The Voyage of Life'' is a series of four paintings created by the American artist Thomas Cole in 1840 and reproduced with minor alterations in 1842, representing an allegory of the four stages of human life. The paintings, ''Childhood'', ''Yout ...
:'' ''Youth''
File:Thomas Cole - The Voyage of Life Manhood, 1842 (National Gallery of Art).jpg, Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history paintin ...
, ''The Voyage of Life
''The Voyage of Life'' is a series of four paintings created by the American artist Thomas Cole in 1840 and reproduced with minor alterations in 1842, representing an allegory of the four stages of human life. The paintings, ''Childhood'', ''Yout ...
:'' ''Manhood''
File:Thomas Cole - The Voyage of Life Old Age, 1842 (National Gallery of Art).jpg, Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history paintin ...
, ''The Voyage of Life
''The Voyage of Life'' is a series of four paintings created by the American artist Thomas Cole in 1840 and reproduced with minor alterations in 1842, representing an allegory of the four stages of human life. The paintings, ''Childhood'', ''Yout ...
:'' ''Old Age''
File:A View of the Mountain Pass Called the Notch of the White Mountans (Crawford Notch)-1839-Thomas Cole.jpg, Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history paintin ...
, ''A View of the Mountain Pass Called the Notch of the White Mountains (Crawford Notch),'' 1839
File:George Inness - The Lackawanna Valley - Google Art Project.jpg, George Inness
George Inness (May 1, 1825 – August 3, 1894) was a prominent United States, American landscape painting, landscape painter.
Now recognized as one of the most influential American artists of the nineteenth century, Inness was influenced b ...
, ''The Lackawanna Valley
''The Lackawanna Valley'' is a c. 1855 painting by the American artist George Inness. Painted in oil on canvas, it is one of Inness' most well-known works.Cikovsky, Quick, 74 It is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, ...
,'' 1855
File:Thomas Eakins - The Biglin Brothers Racing.jpg, Thomas Eakins
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artists.
For the length ...
, ''The Biglin Brothers Racing,'' 1873
File:Winslow Homer - Breezing Up (A Fair Wind) - Google Art Project.jpg, Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...
, '' Breezing Up (A Fair Wind)'', 1873–1876
File:El Rio de Luz (The River of Light) Frederic Edwin Church.jpg, Frederic Edwin Church
Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for painting large landscapes, ...
, ''Morning in The Tropics'', (1877)
File:Cassat - The Loge NGA.jpg, Mary Cassatt
Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar De ...
, ''The Loge,'' 1882
File:Mother and Child - Cassatt 1905.jpg, Mary Cassatt
Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar De ...
, '' Woman with a Sunflower'', 1905
File:John Singer Sargent - Street in Venice (NGAi).jpg, John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...
, ''Street in Venice
''Street in Venice'' (or ''A Street Scene in Venice'') is a c. 1882 panel painting, oil on wood painting by the American artist John Singer Sargent (1856–1925). Painted in a Post-Impressionism, post-impressionist manner, it is set in a quiet b ...
,'' 1889
File:Albert Pinkham Ryder 004.jpg, Albert Pinkham Ryder
Albert Pinkham Ryder (March 19, 1847 – March 28, 1917) was an American painter best known for his poetic and moody allegorical works and seascapes, as well as his eccentric personality. While his art shared an emphasis on subtle variations of ...
, ''Siegfried and the Rhine Maidens,'' 1888-1891
File:A Friendly Call.JPG, William Merritt Chase
William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...
, ''A Friendly Call
''A Friendly Call'' is an oil on canvas painting executed in 1895 by the American painter William Merritt Chase. It was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1943 as part of the Chester Dale
Chester Dale (May 3, 1883 ...
,'' 1895
File:Snow in New York.jpg, Robert Henri
Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher.
As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...
, ''Snow in New York,'' 1902
File:Both Members of This Club George Bellows.jpeg, George Bellows
George Wesley Bellows (August 12 or August 19, 1882 – January 8, 1925) was an American realism, American realist painting, painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City. He became, according to the Columbus Museum of Art ...
, ''Both Members of This Club
''Both Members of This Club'' is an oil painting by George Bellows. It hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Washington DC. It dates to 1909 and measures .
The Gallery writes, ''Both Members of This Club'' was inspired by the ...
'' 1909
File:Childe Hassam - Allies Day.jpg, Childe Hassam
Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressioni ...
, ''Allies Day, May 1917'', 1917
See also
*
Collections of the National Gallery of Art
Collection or Collections may refer to:
* Cash collection, the function of an accounts receivable department
* Collection (church), money donated by the congregation during a church service
* Collection agency, agency to collect cash
* Collection ...
*
List of original Hermitage paintings in the National Gallery of Art
*
Architecture of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, has a unique and diverse architectural history. Encompassing government, monumental, commercial, and residential buildings, D.C. is home to some of the country's most famous and popular structur ...
References
Further reading
*
David Cannadine
Sir David Nicholas Cannadine (born 7 September 1950) is a British author and historian who specialises in modern history, Britain and the history of business and philanthropy. He is currently the Dodge Professor of History at Princeton Unive ...
,
Mellon: An American Life', Knopf, 2006,
*Neil Harris,
', University of Chicago Press, 2013,
*Andrew Kelly, ''Kentucky by Design: The Decorative Arts, American Culture, and the Index of American Design,'' University Press of Kentucky, 2015.
*National Gallery of Art, ''Highlights from the National Gallery of Art'' Washington, National Gallery of Art, 2016,
ISBN 9780894683992
*"The National Gallery of Art, Washington", special number of ''Connaissance des Arts'', Société Français de Promotion Artistique (2000)
External links
*
*
ttps://www.nga.gov/casva Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Artsbr>
National Gallery of Art National, YouTubeNational Gallery of Art Talks, YouTubeNational Gallery of Artwithin
Google Arts & Culture
Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world.
It utilizes high-resolution image technol ...
*
{{Authority control
Art museums established in 1937
National Mall
Collections of the National Gallery of Art
I. M. Pei buildings
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Domes
Neoclassical architecture in Washington, D.C.
Art museums and galleries in Washington, D.C.
Modern art museums in the United States
Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums
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