National Gallery of Art (NGA)

COLLECTIONS, CURATORIAL AND ACQUISITIONS OF ARTThe National Gallery of Art's collection is at the heart of the National Gallery's mission, following founder Andrew W. Mellon's gift and mandate to establish a national gallery with works of the highest quality. The collection of paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts traces the development of European achievements from the thirteenth century to the present and American art from colonial times to the present. It comprises a comprehensive study of Italian Renaissance art, including the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci outside Europe, as well as strong holdings of the French Impressionists, the Dutch and Flemish masters, one of the country's most distinguished American collections, and twentieth-century art. The collection also includes prints, drawings, rare books and photographs. Major post-World War II sculpture is installed in a dynamic and richly landscaped setting in the National Gallery Sculpture Garden.Reflecting and attracting the nation in our holdings is an important strategic priority of the National Gallery. After the successful completion of the National Gallery's first holistic plan for the development of the collection, "Collecting for the Nation: Charting a Path for Collection Expansion", the work of implementing the plan and living its values began. The collection priorities set by the National Gallery support the founding collections of European and America and also embrace an expanded mandate to incorporate underrepresented artists and histories. In fiscal year 2023 the National Gallery acquired some 973 transformative works of art by national and international women artists and artists from under-represented groups, including the following acquisitions:A majestic sculpture "Sentinel" (2022) by Simone Leigh (b. 1967); a materially and socially rich "Decorative Toile" (1992-1993), by Rene Green (b. 1959), a settee and swath of cloth printed with floral motifs and imagery depicting cruelties of the slave trade; the painting "Still Life with Flowers in an Alabaster Vase and Fruit" (1783), by Anne Vallayer-Coster (1744-1818); the luminous painting "Still Life of Apples, Pears, Cucumbers, Figs and a Melon" (c. 1625-1630), by Fede Galizia (c. 1578-c. 1630); the only known extant painting "Annunciation" (1677) by Caterina Angela Pierozzi (c. 1670-1690). The National Gallery also purchased works by Missouri-based photographer Julie Blackmon (b. 1966) who has trained her camera on ordinary family and domestic life. Other works the National Gallery acquired during the fiscal year:Doris Ulman (1882-1934), an American photographer best known for her portraits of the people of Appalachia. The National Gallery acquired seven of her photogravures and platinum prints.Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (b. 1940), a citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, who is among the foremost Native artists working today. The National Gallery acquired her "An Indian Ode to the Florentines" (1980).The National Gallery also made significant purchases of work by important Black, Indigenous, and Latin American artists as well as artists of Latin American descent. The National Gallery acquired two contemporary works by Miguel Luciano (b. 1972), one of the most noteworthy Puerto Rican artists working today. "Coono" (c. 2000) is from a series of paintings that were inspired by US advertising and early commercial representations of Puerto Ricans in the US. "Shields / Escudos" (2020), created in the aftermath of several economic, natural, and political crises that befell the island over the past two decades. Amalia Mesa-Bains (b. 1943), celebrated for amplifying Mexican American domestic practices in elaborate "altar installations" that draw in viewers. The National Gallery acquired her "Curandera's Botanica" (2008), which commemorates the place of spirituality and folk remedies.Lolo Soldevilla (1901-1971), a Cuban painter, who explored modern abstraction. "Untitled" (1955), represents one of Soldevilla's breakthrough works and comes from her most famous, original series.The National Gallery also brought important works by the black photographers and printmakers Shawn Walker, Ming Smith, Ray Francis, Adger Cowans, Anthony Barboza, Ming Smith, Louis Draper, Mikki Ferrill, Ernest Cole, and Elizabeth Catlett to the collection. Their work will be featured in the upcoming exhibitions "Photography and the Black Arts Movement and Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and That It Implies".The National Gallery also acquired 32 works from the world class collection by Brenda and Larry Thompson, mostly of art by twenty African American artists that reflect a variety of media and range in style. The artists represented include Ron Adams, Emma Amos, Radcliffe Bailey, John Biggers, Willie Cole, Eldzier Cortor, Emilio Cruz, Cliff Joseph, Jacob Lawrence, Sam Middleton, Howardena Pindell, William E. Smith, and Hartwell Yeargans. In honor of its 50th anniversary, the National Gallery acquired 50 works from the Brandywine Workshop, an internationally renowned center for printmaking in Philadelphia. The acquisition reflects a spectrum of artists' voices and approaches to contemporary art. Highlights among the prints were works by: "Telling Many Magpies, Telling Black Wolf, Telling Hachivi" (1989), an homage to indigenous oral history traditions by Edgar Heap of Birds, artist, activist, and professor; "Caribbean Dreams" (2001) by Evangeline Montgomery, multi-media abstract artist, influential curator, and international program developer for the Arts America Program; "Liquid Bottoms, Bright Shallows" (c. 2021) by Diedrick Brackens, best known for his tapestries that explore Black and queer identity; "Untitled" (1979) by Stanley Whitney, an abstract painter deeply invested in chromatic experimentation; "Indigena" (1996) by San Francisco-based artist Ester Hernandez whose work focuses on farm worker rights, Chicanx/Native American culture, political and feminist issues; and "Cross Cultural Pictograms" (1992), by Mei-Ling Hom, a prominent sculpture/installation artist whose work is primarily nature-based. The National Gallery also acquired 248 works from the Ross J. Kelbaugh Collection. The works acquired include 162 photographs of and by Americans made from the 1840s through the early twentieth century that provide compelling insights into the American experience through an examination of the lives of everyday people. The photographs acquired are largely daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes.The Conservation Division continued at its usual rapid pace, conducting hundreds of treatments, collection maintenance, and condition examinations for the permanent collection, new acquisitions, loans, and exhibitions, and carrying out scientific research. Among the hundreds of treatments, studies, and examinations performed in 2023 there were several complex campaigns. The Painting Conservation department, with assistance from the Department of Imaging, is restoring Rembrandt van Rijn's "Man Holding a Sheet of Music" from the Corcoran Gallery of Art. To monitor the paintings surface at various stages of the restoration, 3D models of the painting's surface are created. The Objects Conservation department undertook a sizeable four-day treatment of Andy Goldsworthy's "Roof', including washing the nine slate domes, marble pavers, and ground-floor windows. The Objects Conservation department also undertook a two-month treatment of Katarina Frisch's iconic "Hahn/Cock", the large blue rooster on the East Building's sculpture terrace.

SPECIAL EXHIBITIONSAn integral aspect of the National Gallery's programming is organizing and presenting special exhibitions of major works of art lent from public and private collections around the world, highlighting the breadth of artistic achievement in all forms. Through collaborative relationships with other nations and museums, special exhibitions bring together great works of art and contribute to scholarship in the field. During the fiscal year, 301 lenders from 19 countries and 30 states loaned 1,159 works of art to 12 exhibitions.Major Special Exhibitions:"Sargent and Spain" presented approximately 120 dazzling oils, watercolors, and drawings, many of which are rarely exhibited. Also featured are 28 never-before published photographs, several almost certainly taken by John Singer Sargent himself. Sargent's personal captivation with Spain resulted in a remarkable body of work that documents his extensive travels throughout Spain. The country's rich culture is reflected in his landscapes and marine scenes, pictures of everyday life, architectural studies, and sympathetic portrayals of the locals he encountered."Vittore Carpaccio: Master Storyteller of Renaissance Venice" marks the first retrospective of the artist ever held outside Italy. A leading figure in the art of Renaissance Venice, Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1460/1466 - 1525/1526) is best known for his large, spectacular narrative paintings that brought sacred history to life and drawings characterized by a marvelous freshness of invention. In a focused selection of some 45 paintings and 30 drawings, large-scale canvases painted for charitable societies are seen alongside smaller works that originally decorated the homes of prosperous Venetians."Philip Guston Now" charts the 50-year career of one of America's most influential modern artists through more than 150 paintings and drawings. Guston's story is one of epic change of artistic styles, from muralism to abstract expressionism to figuration, of degrees of political and social involvement, and of levels of personal confession in his work. Guston's work continues to resonate, attract, and provoke, raising crucial questions about the relationship of art to beauty and brutality, freedom and doubt, politics and the imagination."Canova: Sketching in Clay" presented more than 30 of Antonio Canova's (1757-1822) 60 or so surviving clay models. Canova was one of the most famous artists of Europe's revolutionary period, working with his hands and small tools to produce dazzling clay sketch models. These models, imprinted with the fire of his imagination, helped plan his designs for his large iconic statues in marble. Canova also made more finished models, that he showed to patrons or used as guides for carving.All Other Special Exhibitions:"Vermeer's Secrets" featured a quartet of paintings by this 17th-century Dutch artist and two enigmatic works that are now considered to be 20th-century forgeries. "Vermeer's Secrets" draws on 50 years of research through imaging technology and microscopic examination to illuminate and revolutionize our understanding of how Vermeer achieved the compelling effects of his paintings' light-filled moments of quiet solitude."This Is Britain: Photographs from the 1970s and 1980s" brings together the work of Vanley Burke, Pogus Caesar, Anna Fox, Paul Graham, Sunil Gupta, Chris Killip, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, Martin Parr, and others pictured communities, traditions, and landscapes affected by Britain's shifting social and economic realities. Together, they photographed a nation redefining what it meant to be British and, ultimately, modern."Looking Up: Studies for Ceilings, 1550 -1800" presents some 30 examples of the evolution of ceiling decoration. These works move from architectural frameworks housing conventional paintings to the illusion of a single, soaring space during the baroque, and then on to the idealized form associated with neoclassism. "The Interior Life: Recent Acquisitions" displays a selection modern and contemporary art added to the National Gallery's collection over the last three years. Works by 25 artists, including Mara Berrio, Melvin Edwards, Sonia Gomes, Rashid Johnson, and Freddy Rodriguez reshape our collection and understanding of the capacity of art to bring about change."Robert Longo Drawings: Engines of State" is an installation of three grand drawings that appear photogenic by Robert Longo (b. 1953), "The Forest (White House)" (2019); "The Whale (United States Capitol)" (2012-2013); and "The Rock (The Supreme Court of the United States - Split)" (2018). Longo is a leading artist of the "Pictures Generation"a group of artists influenced by critical principles of Conceptual and Pop Art during the 1970s and 1980s. The drawings are based on preexisting photographs and video images that the artist combines with painstaking detail into charcoal. "Drawing in Britain, 1700-1900: New Additions to the Collection" is an exhibition of approximately 80 recently acquired drawings and watercolors, selected entirely from the National Gallery's permanent Collection. The exhibit provides an overview of European influences on British art over two centuries starting in the 1700s, tracing the development of watercolor as a national specialty. "Going through Hell: The Divine Dante" explores the influence of Dante Alighieri's (1265-1321) manuscript "Divine Comedy" in some 20 works all from the National Gallery's collection. The selected works include the 16th century painted "Allegorical Portrait of Dante", sculptures by Auguste Rodin, and works on paper from the 15th to 20th century, from William Blake to Robert Rauschenberg."The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans" brings together works by an intergenerational group of nearly 50 living Native artists across the United States. The artists visualize Indigenous knowledge of land, land base and landscape through variety of practices including weaving, beadwork, sculpture, painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, performance, and video.

EDUCATION AND PUBLIC PROGRAMSThe National Gallery of Art has welcomed 37,000 visitors who have participated in ongoing series of in-person public tours and gallery talks and an additional 12,750 through online programs. The online course "Teaching Critical Thinking Through Art with the National Gallery of Art" reached over 6,700 educators. The National Gallery has served 17,000 students from across the nation and beyond in guided tour experiences with specially trained docents and museum educators. The National Gallery's new First Saturdays program, welcomes intergenerational audiences to explore art and program engaged nearly 11,000 visitors in its pilot year.The affiliate loan program, which sees National Gallery of Art video resources broadcast on TV stations across the United States, reached an annual estimated audience of 61.2 million, a 22% increase over the prior fiscal year. Approximately 30,000 print resources including posters, Art Tales booklets, flyers, and bookmarks were distributed to educators in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Armed Forces of Europe, and Guam. Additionally, 2,200 teaching packets and DVDs have been shared with educators, complementing our robust schedule of in-person and virtual tours for K-12 students. The Digital Experience Division continued to provide transformative digital content and solutions, with our digital audience continuing to grow at an unprecedented rate. Website visits surpassed 18 million, an increase of 46% over the prior fiscal year. Digital content efforts focused on cross-departmental collaboration to revamp the collection page resulted in a 30% increase in page views to stories.Continued expansion in the Production Studio and collaborations on social media led to video views across our website and social channels topping 7.2 million, an increase of 148% over the prior fiscal year. A major success came with the "Canova: Sketching in Clay" exhibition, for which a multichannel video strategy - in-gallery, online and on social delivered over 3 million views across platforms. The team produced over 120 videos, ranging from artist interviews to animations of artworks and a series of how-to videos.The Imaging department continued to produce authoritative art object images for users inside and outside the National Gallery. Over the year, the Imaging team created over 2,700 unique collection images, processed 561 external files of non-NGA objects, and created over 13,000 assets. The studio also digitized over 549 newly acquired paintings, sculptures, and works on paper.The National Gallery Library added 4,686 print books and 3,253 e-books, and almost 26,000 images (18,250 born digital, 30 rare albums with over 3,500 photos, and almost 900 rare photographs) to its holdings. Additionally, 103 titles were acquired for the rare book collection.The reader services department answered 3,117 inquiries, welcomed 231 new registered readers among 1,289 visitors on site and recorded 171,000 unique visits to the library's web pages. The department loaned 1,384 titles to universities and public libraries in 43 states and 20 countries. Library staff produced 41,651 scans from 405 titles in its collections. Image collections staff assisted 400 researchers with inquiries utilizing almost 59,000 photographs and completed 87 reproduction agreements for a total of 396 images to be used in publications and broadcasts. The Center founded in 1979, for advanced study in the visual arts, continued its support and enhancement of scholarship in art and architecture through fellowships, internships, scholarly meetings, research and publications. In fiscal year 2023 the Center welcomed fellows in residence affiliated with institutions in the United States, Canada, and Italy, as well as the first cohort of Howard University undergraduate interns.Highlights from the Center's academic programs included the symposium "Double Vision: Identity and Difference in Modern and Contemporary Art" in conjunction with the exhibition "The Double: Identity and Difference in Art since 1900; the Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art "Michelangelo, Raphael, and the Genius Paradox; "Celebrating Conservation: A Series of Conversations on Its Past, Present, and Future; the Wyeth Foundation for American Art Symposium "Staking Claim: Latinx Art and US American Experiences; the annual Middle Atlantic Symposium in the History of Art, cosponsored with the University of Maryland; a study day and public event in conjunction with the exhibition "Called to Create: Black Artists of the American South; the James A. Porter Colloquium on African American and Afro-Diasporic Art cosponsored with Howard University; a colloquy "The Catalogue Raisonn: A Social Practice organized by Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor Gail Feigenbaum with a public keynote lecture by Antoinette Friedenthal; and the "72nd A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts" delivered by Stephen D. Houston.

Editorial and photography