THE MELLON FAMILY PHILANTHROPY CONTINUED...

When Andrew Mellon decided to create the National Gallery of Art, he used the same "model" he used for business, but this time he used it for culture. He hired the architect to design the building, he supplied the monies to construct the building and a sizable endowment to maintain the museum, and he gave his own personal collection as the museum's founding gift. He supplied the resources for the museum to "get off the ground" and then left it for others to make it grow and get bigger. Two of those "others" were Mellon's children, Paul Mellon and Ailsa Mellon Bruce.

In addition to generous funding, Paul Mellon gave the National Gallery more than 1,000 works of art over the course of his life, including masterpieces by:

Cézanne...

Boy in a Red Waistcoat (1888-1890) by Paul Cézanne

Harlequin (1888-1890) by Paul Cézanne

The Bend in the Road (1900/1906) by Paul Cézanne

Antony Valabrègue (1866) by Paul Cézanne

Monet...

The Bridge at Argenteuil (1874) by Claude Monet

Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son (1875) by Claude Monet

Waterloo Bridge, London, at Dusk (1904) by Claude Monet

Interior, After Dinner (1869/1870) by Claude Monet

The Cradle: Camille with the Artist's Son Jean (1867) by Claude Monet

Degas...

The Dance Lesson (1879) by Edgar Degas

Woman Ironing (1876-1887) by Edgar Degas

Woman Viewed from Behind: Visit to a Museum (1879-1885) by Edgar Degas

Pissarro...

The Gardener: Old Peasant with Cabbage (1883-1895) by Camille Pissarro

Manet...

Plum Brandy (1877) by Edouard Manet

Gauguin...
Still Life with Peonies (1884) by Paul Gauguin

Landscape at Le Pouldu (1890) by Paul Gauguin

Breton Girls Dancing: Pont-Aven (1888) by Paul Gauguin

Te Pape Nave Nave: Delectable Waters (1898) by Paul Gauguin

Toulouse-Lautrec...

A la Bastille:Jeanne Wenz (1888) by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Renoir...

Child with Toys: Gabrielle and the Artist's Son, Jean (1895-1896) by Auguste Renoir

What an amazing collection of paintings! Next blog post we'll see some of the masterpieces that Ailsa Mellon Bruce donated to the museum.

The National Gallery of Art is located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets along Constitution Avenue.

• Admission is always FREE.
• Open Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Open Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• Closed on December 25 and January 1. 

All photos in this blog post were taken by me during my visit in September, 2013.

THANK YOU JOSEPH STALIN???

Now I know that Joseph Stalin was not the most likable person in world history. However lovers of the National Gallery of Art should give thanks to him for ordering the sale of over 250 masterpieces from the Hermitage Museum in 1930 and 1931. The Russians needed American currency to finance their industrialization, so Stalin ordered the Hermitage to sell some of the museum's most important paintings, some of which had belonged to both Czar Nicholas I and Catherine II, empress of Russia.  Andrew Mellon took advantage of this amazing opportunity to purchase 21 of the world's greatest masterpieces for nearly $7,000,000. These paintings became part of the collection that Mellon donated to the museum as his founding gift. How ironic that Andrew Mellon, the archcapitalist, would purchase paintings from the archcommunist, Joseph Stalin.

Several of those paintings are part of the museum's superb Italian collection:
The Alba Madonna (1510) by Raphael

St. George and the Dragon (1510) by Raphael

By purchasing these two Raphael paintings, the Alba Madonna for $1,700,000 (surpassing the price he paid for  the Niccoli-Cowper Raphael) and the St. George and the Dragon for $745,000, Mellon became the only American to have purchased three Raphael paintings.  

Venus with a Mirror (1555) by Titian

Titian made the depiction of the female nude his quintessential subject. Some 15 copies and variations of this painting are known, either by him or his assistants, but this canvas is by Titian’s hand alone. However, for some reason he painted this portrait over another completed painting.  

The Adoration of the Magi (1478/1482) by Botticelli

Like Titian and his Venus paintings, Italian Renaissance painter Botticelli painted several versions of the theme of the Adoration of the Magi. This version was probably painted in Rome because Botticelli was there at the request of Pope Sixtus IV to fresco part of the Sistine Chapel, along with other leading Florentine masters of the day.

The Finding of Moses (1570/1575) by Veronese

Along with Titian and Tintoretto, Veronese was one of the great trio that dominated Venetian painting in late 16th-century Renaissance. He was known for his large biblical paintings, commissioned for monasteries and churches in Venice and Verona, plus he was the leading painter of fresco ceilings in Venice including in the Doge's Palace. 

The National Gallery of Art is located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets along Constitution Avenue.

• Admission is always FREE.
• Open Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Open Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• Closed on December 25 and January 1. 

All photos in this blog post were taken by me during my visit in September, 2013.

A CHANGE IN PURCHASING STRATEGY

During Andrew Mellon's visits to London in the mid-1920s with the famous art dealer, Joseph Duveen, they would frequently visit the National Gallery in London, a state-funded art gallery that was free to the public. It is probable that during these visits Duveen pointed out to Mellon that the United States did not have a national art gallery. So it is in the winter of 1927-1928 that Andrew Mellon began to seriously plan his creation of the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. This is when Mellon's art purchasing strategy totally changes. He would no longer purchase English and Dutch portraits and landscapes to decorate his personal homes; he would now purchase European Old Masters, Italian Renaissance paintings and religious paintings to complete a great collection that would become his founding gift to the museum.

Niccolini-Cowper Madonna (1508) by Raphael

In 1928 Mellon purchased through Duveen this exquisite Raphael (so-called for its former owners, the Niccolini family and the Earls of Cowper) for over $836,000, which at that time was the most ever spent for a painting. It is the first purchase Mellon made after his decision to create a national gallery. Raphael was considered the most highly-esteemed artist for rich American collectors at the time.

In 1930-1931 an astonishing opportunity would present itself  to Mellon which would allow him the opportunity to purchase 21 of the world's greatest masterpieces that would become the core of the collection that began the National Gallery of Art. I will write about that amazing story in my next post. 

The National Gallery of Art is located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets along Constitution Avenue.

• Admission is always FREE.
• Open Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Open Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• Closed on December 25 and January 1. 

All photos in this blog post were taken by me during my visit in September, 2013.

VERMEER AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

Of course, visiting the National Gallery of Art was at the top of my wishlist when we planned our visit to Washington D.C. The National Gallery of Art was opened in 1941, thanks to the incredible generosity of Pittsburgh financier Andrew Mellon. Andrew Mellon donated his private collection of paintings and sculpture to start the museum, the funds in order to construct the building and a sizable endowment to maintain the museum. He purposely did not name the museum after himself because he wanted other major collectors, such as P. A. B. Widener, Samuel Kress and Chester Dale, to donate their art collections to create the gift to the nation that has became one of the premier art museums in the world. And the best part is admission is FREE to everyone everyday.

The highlight of the visit was seeing the four Vermeers. Considering there are only 37 known works by Vermeer in the world, to see 4 of them on one wall was unbelievable:

Woman Holding a Balance (1664). Part of P. A. B. Widener's gift to the museum.

Girl Holding a Flute (1665/1670). Part of P. A. B. Widener's gift to the museum.

A Lady Writing (1665). A gift from the Havemeyer Family.

The Girl with a Red Hat (1665). Part of Andrew Mellon's founding gift to the museum.

These four paintings are part of the vast Dutch painting collection at the National Gallery of Art. From Rembrandt to Frans Hals to Jan Lievens to Jan Steen, the Dutch collection is one of the finest in the world. I will continue my tour of the museum in my next blog post.

The National Gallery of Art is located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets along Constitution Avenue.

• Admission is always FREE.
• Open Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Open Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• Closed on December 25 and January 1. 

All photos in this blog post were taken by me during my visit in September, 2013.