National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC)

National Gallery of Art Photos

National Mall between Third and Seventh streets at Constitution Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20565 (map)

The National Gallery of Art was created in 1937 for the people of the United States of America by a joint resolution of Congress, accepting the gift of financier and art collector An...

This venue includes these other venues

National Gallery of Art events

  • iCal
  • RSS
Date Time Event Title Watching
Sat 11/22   no events scheduled
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sat 11/22   Korean
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sat 11/22   The Sculpture Galleries
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sat 11/22 10:30 am Early Italian to Early Modern: An Introduction to the West Building Collection
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sat 11/22 11:30 am 1900 to Now: An Introduction to the East Building Collection
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sat 11/22 12:30 pm Italian Renaissance Collection
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sat 11/22 1:00 pm Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sat 11/22 2:00 pm Part 3: A Future Realized Films By Today's Indian
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sun 11/23   Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sun 11/23   Early Italian to Early Modern: An Introduction to the West Building Collection
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sun 11/23 11:30 am 1900 to Now: An Introduction to the East Building Collection
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sun 11/23 12:00 pm Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sun 11/23 12:30 pm The Sculpture Galleries
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sun 11/23 1:30 pm Italian Renaissance Collection
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sun 11/23 1:00 pm Drawing Inspiration
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sun 11/23 2:00 pm Conversations with Authors: Calvin Tomkins
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sun 11/23 2:30 pm American Collection
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sun 11/23 4:30 pm A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Add to Favorites
0 people
Sun 11/23 6:30 pm The Singers' Companye
Add to Favorites
0 people
Mon 11/24   no events scheduled
Add to Favorites
0 people
Mon 11/24 12:30 pm The Sculpture Galleries
Add to Favorites
0 people
Mon 11/24 12:00 pm Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples
Add to Favorites
0 people
Mon 11/24 2:30 pm Italian Renaissance Collection
Add to Favorites
0 people
Tue 11/25 10:30 am Early Italian to Early Modern: An Introduction to the West Building Collection
Add to Favorites
0 people
Tue 11/25 11:30 am Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples
Add to Favorites
0 people

These people love National Gallery of Art

Start the conversation

user image
Share your thoughts…
Leave a comment after signing in or joining.

Venue details: National Gallery of Art in Washington DC metro area

Tags
(add tags)
Add tags

Add some tags to describe this venue. Just separate them with commas.

e.g. cooking, lecture

Description
The National Gallery of Art was created in 1937 for the people of the United States of America by a joint resolution of Congress, accepting the gift of financier and art collector Andrew W. Mellon. During the 1920s, Mr. Mellon began collecting with the intention of forming a gallery of art for the nation in Washington. In 1937, the year of his death, he promised his collection to the United States. Funds for the construction of the West Building were provided by The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust. On March 17, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt accepted the completed building and the collections on behalf of the people of the United States of America.

The paintings and works of sculpture given by Andrew Mellon have formed a nucleus of high quality around which the collections have grown. Mr. Mellon's hope that the newly created National Gallery would attract gifts from other collectors was soon realized in the form of major donations of art from Samuel H. Kress, Rush H. Kress, Joseph Widener, Chester Dale, Ailsa Mellon Bruce, Lessing J. Rosenwald, and Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch as well as individual gifts from hundreds of other donors.

The Gallery's East Building, located on land set aside in the original Congressional resolution, was opened in 1978. It accommodates the Gallery's growing collections and expanded exhibition schedule and houses an advanced research center, administrative offices, a great library, and a burgeoning collection of drawings and prints. The building was accepted for the nation on June 1, 1978, by President Jimmy Carter. Funds for construction were given by Paul Mellon and the late Ailsa Mellon Bruce, the son and daughter of the founder, and by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

On May 23, 1999 the Gallery opened an outdoor sculpture garden designed to offer year-round enjoyment to the public. Located in the 6.1-acre block adjacent to the West Building at 7th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., the garden provides an informal, yet elegant setting for works of modern and contemporary sculpture.

The Collectors Committee, an advisory group of private citizens, has made it possible to acquire paintings and sculpture of the twentieth century. Key works of art have also come to the Gallery through the Patrons' Permanent Fund. In addition, members of the Circle of the National Gallery of Art have provided funds for many special programs and projects. The Sculpture Garden is a gift to the nation from The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.

Posted by evdb on (Jan 12, 2007 3:35 pm) (permalink)

46 people's
favorite

Related venues

Feedback