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National Gallery of Art - Washington, DC
- photos taken month year, TMC. The National Gallery of Art was created for the people of the United States of America in 1937 by a Joint Resolution of Congress, accepting the gift of financier, art collector, and public servant Andrew W. Mellon. His gift included old master paintings and sculptures and a building to house the new museum, to be constructed on the National Mall. On March 17, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt accepted the completed National Gallery of Art on behalf of the American people. Opened to the public on the following day, this grand building, designed by John Russell Pope and now called the West Building, was at the time the largest marble structure in the world. Andrew W. Mellon's hope that the newly created National Gallery would attract similar gifts of the highest quality from other collectors was soon realized in the form of major donations of European and American art from private donors. These eventually included founding benefactors Samuel H. Kress, Rush H. Kress, Joseph Widener, Chester Dale; Ailsa Mellon Bruce, Lessing J. Rosenwald, and Paul Mellon. Generosity continues to this day with gifts from hundreds of other donors and artists. The Gallery's East Building, located on land set aside in the original Joint Resolution, contains the Gallery's collection of modern and contemporary painting, sculpture, and artist's prints and drawings ass well as an advanced study and research center, offices, and an art reference library. The building, designed by I.M. Pei, opened on June 1, 1978, and was accepted for the nation by President Jimmy Carter. Funds for construction were given by Paul Mellon and Ailsa Mellon Bruce, the son and daughter of the founder, and by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Sculpture Garden, providing a distinctive landscaped setting for works from the Gallery's collection of modern and contemporary sculpture, opened to the public on May 23, 1999. The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation provided funds for construction and for several of the sculptures. The National Gallery enjoys a supportive partnership of public commitment and private philanthropy to fulfill its mission to exhibit, preserve, and interpret great works of European and American art in the nation's collection. Since its founding, federal funds have fostered the protection and care of the nation's art collection and have supported the Gallery's operations and maintenance, ensuring that the Gallery is open 363 days a year, free of charge. Private support has created a renowned art collection of European and American masterworks, provided funds to construct the two landmark buildings as well as the Sculpture Garden, and makes possible, in conjunction with federal support, a changing program of special exhibitions. -from Map and Visitors Guide handed out at the Gallery |
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