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129-649: The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is a historic art museum in Washington, D.C. , United States. Founded in 1962 and opened in 1968, it is part of the Smithsonian Institution . Its collections focus on images of famous Americans. Along with the Smithsonian American Art Museum , the museum is housed in the historic Old Patent Office Building . The first portrait gallery in the United States

258-525: A crucifix covered in ants. The exhibit was scheduled to run from October 30, 2010, to February 13, 2011. Within days of its opening, Catholic League president William A. Donohue labeled A Fire in My Belly hate speech, anti-Catholic, and anti-Christian. A spokesperson for Representative John Boehner , incoming Speaker of the United States House of Representatives , called it an "arrogant" abuse of

387-470: A sword , could be hired from shops outside. The treasuries of cathedrals and large churches, or parts of them, were often set out for public display and veneration. Many of the grander English country houses could be toured by the respectable for a tip to the housekeeper, during the long periods when the family were not in residence. Special arrangements were made to allow the public to see many royal or private collections placed in galleries, as with most of

516-550: A $ 2,000 fine. All four documents were recovered. The late 1980s saw the collection continue to expand, although there were fewer major additions. One significant acquisition was a nude image — a self-portrait painting by Alice Neel acquired in 1985. It was the National Portrait Gallery's first nude work. Neel was 80 years old when she painted it. Two years later, noted photographer Irving Penn donated 120 platinum prints of fashion and celebrity portraits he produced over

645-610: A National Collection", went on display in the Arts and Industries Building in 1965 (the bicentennial of James Smithson 's birth). The following year, the NPG completed the Catalog of American Portraits, the first inventory of portraiture held by the Smithsonian. The catalog also documented the physical characteristics of each artwork, and its provenance (author, date, ownership, etc.). The museum moved into

774-524: A bequest. The Kunstmuseum Basel , through its lineage which extends back to the Amerbach Cabinet , which included a collection of works by Hans Holbein the Younger and purchased by the city of Basel in 1661, is considered to be the first museum of art open to the public in the world. In the second half of the 18th century, many private collections of art were opened to the public, and during and after

903-598: A central rotunda. Lower sections or "ranges" were placed outside the pavilions. Pervasive complaints of dampness and the poor health of the building's occupants led to the replacement of the wood floors in the 1890s. Balconies were added in 1896–1902 to increase space after a new Smithsonian Building failed to be authorized by the United States Congress . A tunnel was constructed in 1901 to the Smithsonian Institution Building next door. According to

1032-449: A collaboration of museums and galleries that are more interested with the categorization of art. They are interested in the potential use of folksonomy within museums and the requirements for post-processing of terms that have been gathered, both to test their utility and to deploy them in useful ways. The steve.museum is one example of a site that is experimenting with this collaborative philosophy. The participating institutions include

1161-401: A collection from scratch based on individual pieces chosen through high-quality scholarship rather than buying complete collections from others. The NPG's collection was slowly built over the next five years through donations and purchases. The museum had little money at this time. Often, it located items it wanted and then asked the owner to simply donate it. The first NPG exhibit, "Nucleus for

1290-408: A face-to-face encounter with the subject. The inaugural competition in 2006 drew more than 4000 entries, from which 51 finalists were chosen. For the 2013 competition the total prize money of $ 42,000 was awarded to the top eight commended artists, and the winner received $ 25,000 and a commission to make a portrait for the museum's permanent collection. The subject of the commission is decided jointly by

1419-433: A major factor in social mobility (for example, getting a higher-paid, higher-status job). The argument states that certain art museums are aimed at perpetuating aristocratic and upper class ideals of taste and excludes segments of society without the social opportunities to develop such interest. The fine arts thus perpetuate social inequality by creating divisions between different social groups. This argument also ties in with

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1548-500: A monthly curatorial meeting, the National Portrait Gallery Commission (the museum's board of directors) approved the person's inclusion. The commission was initially quite conservative in its assessment of "historically significant," although this position began to be more relaxed by 1969. As of 2006, the definition of "historically significant" had become quite loose, although "some kind of fame or notoriety remains

1677-402: A number of online art catalogues and galleries that have been developed independently of the support of any individual museum. Many of these, like American Art Gallery, are attempts to develop galleries of artwork that are encyclopedic or historical in focus, while others are commercial efforts to sell the work of contemporary artists. A limited number of such sites have independent importance in

1806-414: A prerequisite". Portraits of living individuals or those dead less than 10 years are also now allowed to be displayed in the museum, as long as their inclusion is clearly important (such as presidents or generals). The process for choosing which images the museum acquires is simple but can be contentious. Potential acquisitions are vigorously and informally discussed at length by researchers, historians, and

1935-716: A whole panoply of experts. It represents a segment of America." On December 13, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, one of the principal sponsors of the exhibit, said it would ask for its $ 100,000 donation back if the film was not restored. Clough replied, "...the Smithsonian's decision to remove the video was a difficult one and we stand by it." The donation was returned, and the Warhol Foundation ceased to support National Portrait Gallery exhibits. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, which donated $ 10,000 to support

2064-567: Is a building or space for the display of art , usually from the museum 's own collection . It might be in public or private ownership, be accessible to all, or have restrictions in place. Although primarily concerned with visual art , art museums are often used as a venue for other cultural exchanges and artistic activities, such as lectures, jewelry, performance arts , music concerts, or poetry readings. Art museums also frequently host themed temporary exhibitions, which often include items on loan from other collections. An institution dedicated to

2193-403: Is controversial, but we want to focus on the museum's and this show's strengths." Kurin expressed the Smithsonian's desire to be responsive to public opinion, but also emphasized the remaining exhibit's importance. "We are sensitive to what the public thinks about our shows and programs," he said. "We stand behind the show. It has strong scholarship with great pieces by artists who are recognized by

2322-545: Is generally considered to have been the first art museum in the United States. It was originally housed in the Renwick Gallery , built in 1859. Now a part of the Smithsonian Institution , the Renwick housed William Wilson Corcoran 's collection of American and European art. The building was designed by James Renwick Jr. and finally completed in 1874. It is located at 1661 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Renwick designed it after

2451-523: Is on the high-ceilinged third floor.) The cost of the renovation rose to $ 180 million by March 2001. That month, Nan Tucker McEvoy (a California newspaper heiress and arts patron) donated $ 10 million for the renovation. The Henry Luce Foundation gave another $ 10 million later that year. Costs continued to rise. Although Congress appropriated $ 33.5 million for the renovation, reconstruction costs were estimated at $ 214 million in June 2001 and

2580-559: Is provided by a dedicated print room located within the museum. Murals or mosaics often remain where they have been created ( in situ ), although many have also been removed to galleries. Various forms of 20th-century art, such as land art and performance art , also usually exist outside a gallery. Photographic records of these kinds of art are often shown in galleries, however. Most museums and large art galleries own more works than they have room to display. The rest are held in reserve collections , on or off-site. A sculpture garden

2709-557: Is similar to an art gallery, presenting sculpture in an outdoor space. Sculpture has grown in popularity with sculptures installed in open spaces on both a permanent and temporary basis. Most larger paintings from about 1530 onwards were designed to be seen either in churches or palaces, and many buildings built as palaces now function successfully as art museums. By the 18th century additions to palaces and country houses were sometimes intended specifically as galleries for viewing art, and designed with that in mind. The architectural form of

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2838-502: Is to shape identity and memory, cultural heritage, distilled narratives and treasured stories. Many art museums throughout history have been designed with a cultural purpose or been subject to political intervention. In particular, national art galleries have been thought to incite feelings of nationalism . This has occurred in both democratic and non-democratic countries, although authoritarian regimes have historically exercised more control over administration of art museums. Ludwig Justi

2967-596: The 1873 Vienna Exposition . Funds were approved in 1879 and the design was executed by Cluss and Schulze, based on the Meigs plan. During its construction, the materials featured at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition —up to "sixty box cars worth" of donations —were too numerous to fit in the Smithsonian Institution Building and so were temporarily stored in the District Armory Building at

3096-733: The Alte Pinakothek , Munich) was opened to the public in 1779 and the Medici collection in Florence around 1789 (as the Uffizi Gallery). The opening of the Musée du Louvre during the French Revolution in 1793 as a public museum for much of the former French royal collection marked an important stage in the development of public access to art by transferring the ownership to a republican state; but it

3225-625: The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars , many royal collections were nationalized, even where the monarchy remained in place, as in Spain and Bavaria . In 1753, the British Museum was established and the Old Royal Library collection of manuscripts was donated to it for public viewing. In 1777, a proposal to the British government was put forward by MP John Wilkes to buy the art collection of

3354-738: The Guggenheim Museum in New York City by Frank Lloyd Wright , the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao by Frank Gehry , Centre Pompidou-Metz by Shigeru Ban , and the redesign of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art by Mario Botta . Some critics argue these galleries defeat their purposes because their dramatic interior spaces distract the eye from the paintings they are supposed to exhibit. Museums are more than just mere 'fixed structures designed to house collections.' Their purpose

3483-609: The Guggenheim Museum , the Cleveland Museum of Art , the Metropolitan Museum of Art , and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art . There are relatively few local/regional/national organizations dedicated specifically to art museums. Most art museums are associated with local/regional/national organizations for the arts , humanities or museums in general. Many of these organizations are listed as follows: Arts and Industries Building The Arts and Industries Building

3612-540: The Late Medieval period onwards, areas in royal palaces, castles , and large country houses of the social elite were often made partially accessible to sections of the public, where art collections could be viewed. At the Palace of Versailles , entrance was restricted to people of certain social classes who were required to wear the proper apparel, which typically included the appropriate accessories, silver shoe buckles and

3741-660: The National Museum of Natural History in May 1921. This formed the nucleus of what would become the National Portrait Gallery Collection. In 1937, Andrew Mellon donated his large collection of classic and modernist art to the United States, which led to the foundation of the National Gallery of Art . The collection included a large number of portraits. Mellon asked that, should a portrait gallery be created,

3870-472: The National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo . The phrase "art gallery" is also sometimes used to describe businesses which display art for sale, but these are not art museums. Throughout history, large and expensive works of art have generally been commissioned by religious institutions or political leaders and been displayed in temples, churches, and palaces . Although these collections of art were not open to

3999-682: The National Portrait Gallery in London. Upon his return to the United States, Winthrope began pressing for the establishment of a similar museum in the United States. In January 1919, the Smithsonian Institution entered into a cooperative endeavor with the American Federation of Arts and the American Mission to Negotiate Peace to create a National Art Committee. The committee's goal was to commission portraits of famous leaders from

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4128-604: The Papacy , while the Vatican Museums , whose collections are still owned by the Pope, trace their foundation to 1506, when the recently discovered Laocoön and His Sons was put on public display. A series of museums on different subjects were opened over subsequent centuries, and many of the buildings of the Vatican were purpose-built as galleries. An early royal treasury opened to the public

4257-524: The Smithsonian Folklife Festival . The Arts and Industries Building reopened in November 2021 for its first exhibition since 2004, Futures , scheduled to run through July 2022. Afterward, the building is scheduled to be closed for significant renovations, which would allow it to be permanently reopened as early as 2028. The building was evaluated as a possible home for the National Museum of

4386-553: The mystification of fine arts . Research suggests that the context in which an artwork is being presented has significant influence on its reception by the audience, and viewers shown artworks in a museum rated them more highly than when displayed in a "laboratory" setting Most art museums have only limited online collections, but a few museums, as well as some libraries and government agencies, have developed substantial online catalogues. Museums, libraries, and government agencies with substantial online collections include: There are

4515-401: The 1970s, a number of political theorists and social commentators have pointed to the political implications of art museums and social relations. Pierre Bourdieu , for instance, argued that in spite the apparent freedom of choice in the arts, people's artistic preferences (such as classical music, rock, traditional music) strongly tie in with their social position. So called cultural capital is

4644-629: The Chez Panisse Restaurant and Cafe, the Edible Schoolyard and champion of the Slow Food movement. The 2013 winner was Bo Gehring of Beacon, New York, who was commissioned to direct a video portrait of jazz musician Esperanza Spalding . In 2012, the National Portrait Gallery sponsored a new temporary exhibit, "Poetic Likeness: Modern American Poets," which focused on images of great American poets. The NPG collection had grown so large that

4773-768: The Gibbs-Coolidge set. The portraits were donated by the Coolidge family of Boston (without controversy). In December, the museum obtained a bust of Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull (which may have been sculpted from the portrait which was later used for the $ 10 bill) and a Gilbert Stuart portrait of Representative Fisher Ames from the Henry Cabot Lodge family in Massachusetts. The following April, Varina Webb Stewart and Joel A.H. Webb presented important portraits of Jefferson Davis and his wife, Varina Howell Davis , to

4902-596: The Kogod Courtyard is a popular meeting place in DC. There is plenty of seating, free wifi, and a cafe with snacks for museum visitors open from 11:30 am until 6:30 pm. Design approval for the canopy proved difficult. The design had to be approved by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which has statutory authority to approve all buildings and renovations in the D.C. metropolitan area. Although

5031-646: The Lansdowne portrait. Foundation chairman Fred W. Smith read about failing donor effort in the Wall Street Journal on February 26. Although the Reynolds Foundation generally only made grants in the areas of elder care, cardiovascular research, and journalism, assisting with the Lansdowne purchase fell within the foundation's "special projects" area of responsibility. NPG Director Marc Pachter flew to Nevada to meet with foundation officials on March 3, and

5160-587: The Louvre's Tuileries addition. At the time of its construction, it was known as "the American Louvre". University art museums and galleries constitute collections of art developed, owned, and maintained by all kinds of schools, community colleges, colleges, and universities. This phenomenon exists in the West and East, making it a global practice. Although easily overlooked, there are over 700 university art museums in

5289-604: The Marxist theory of mystification and elite culture . Furthermore, certain art galleries, such as the National Gallery in London and the Louvre in Paris are situated in buildings of considerable emotional impact. The Louvre in Paris is for instance located in the former Royal Castle of the ancient regime , and is thus clearly designed with a political agenda. It has been argued that such buildings create feelings of subjugation and adds to

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5418-675: The Museum of Fine Arts over the previous two years, but the museum declined to purchase them. The Athenaeum began searching for another buyer, and in early 1979 the Athenaeum tentatively reached an agreement to sell the works to the NPG for $ 5 million. When the Athenaeum made these discussions public in April 1979, there was strong public opposition to the sale in Boston. NPG director Marvin Sadik declined to cancel

5547-688: The NCPC approved the preliminary design, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), the United States Department of the Interior , the D.C. State Preservation Office, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation all opposed the enclosure of the courtyard. The NCPC reversed its preliminary approval on June 2, 2005. Unwilling to lose the canopy, the Smithsonian brought five alternatives to

5676-498: The NCPC on August 4. On September 8, 2005, the NCPC reversed itself yet again, and approved one of the revised designs. The delay cost the Smithsonian $ 10 million. In October 2005, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation made a $ 45 million donation to the NPG to finish both the building renovation and the canopy. The Smithsonian agreed to call the two museums, the conservation center, courtyard, storage facility, and other operations within

5805-476: The NPG obtained for $ 115,000 the earliest known daguerreotype of abolitionist John Brown , whose 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry helped to spark the Civil War. The portrait was created by African American photographer Augustus Washington . In the fall of 2000, Neil Primrose, 7th Earl of Rosebery , offered to sell Gilbert Stuart's Lansdowne portrait of George Washington to the National Portrait Gallery. The painting

5934-727: The NPG to begin collecting photographs. The Library of Congress had long opposed the move in order to protect its own role in collecting photographs, but NPG Director Marvin Sadik fought hard to have the ban eliminated. The NPG rapidly expanded its photography collection, and in October 1976 established a Department of Photographs. The gallery's first photography exhibit, "Facing the Light: Historic American Portrait Daguerreotypes", opened in September 1978. It also continued to build its other collections. In February 1977,

6063-415: The NPG's collection went on tour around the United States. In March 2007, a multi-year study of leadership at eight Smithsonian museums made recommendations about the National Portrait Gallery. The report concluded that the museum needed stronger, more visionary leadership intent on creating a truly national museum. The report also called for "administrative consolidation" of the National Portrait Gallery and

6192-509: The National Portrait Gallery Commission. A hallmark of the National Portrait Gallery's permanent collection is the Hall of Presidents, which contains portraits of nearly all American presidents. It is the largest and most complete collection in the world, except for the White House collection itself. The centerpiece of the Hall of Presidents is the famous Lansdowne portrait of George Washington. How

6321-412: The National Portrait Gallery had fairly strict rules regarding which images could enter its collection. The person depicted had to be historically significant. An individual also needed to be dead at least 10 years before their portrait could be displayed (although some images of obviously important living people were acquired while they still lived). After an initial affirmative determination by curators at

6450-520: The National Portrait Gallery in 1962, and the Civil Service Commission moved out of the structure in November 1963. Preparations for the renovation began in November 1964, and the Grunley, Walsh Construction Co. began demolition of non-historic interior structures by May 1965. The $ 6 million renovation was complete by April 1968, and the National Portrait Gallery opened on October 7. In 1995,

6579-556: The National Portrait Gallery's attempt to buy two Gilbert Stuart paintings. The famous, unfinished portraits of George and Martha Washington were owned by the Boston Athenaeum , which loaned them to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1876. But the Athenaeum, a private collection, was suffering from financial difficulties by the late 1970s. It twice offered to sell the two portraits to

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6708-663: The National Portrait Gallery. (Stewart and Webb were the Davis' great-grandchildren.) In 1980, the museum obtained (through purchase and loan) a number of works by graphic artist Howard Chandler Christy for exhibit. Works displayed ranged from his "Christy girl" recruiting posters to history-based works such as Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States . By 1981, the museum had more than 2,000 items in its collection. Two major 19th-century photography collections were added by

6837-512: The Old Patent Office Building with the National Fine Arts Collection in 1966. It opened to the public on October 7, 1968. The Old Patent Office Building was renovated in 1969 by the architectural firm of Faulkner, Fryer and Vanderpool. The renovation won the American Institute of Architects National Honor Award in 1970. The following year, the NPG began the National Portrait Survey, an attempt to catalog and photograph all portraits in all formats held by every public and private collection and museum in

6966-417: The Old Patent Office complex the "Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture" in appreciation for the gift. The National Portrait Gallery reopened on July 1, 2006. The total cost of the building's renovation was $ 283 million. Attendance at the renovated building rose significantly to 214,495 in just two months. In the past, both museums had drawn just 450,000 over 12 months. The achievement

7095-529: The Smithsonian American Art Museum. After the 2008 presidential election, the National Portrait Gallery obtained graphic artist Shepard Fairey 's ubiquitous "Hope" poster of Barack Obama. Obama supporter Tony Podesta and his wife, Heather, donated it to the museum. In November 2010, the National Portrait Gallery hosted a major new exhibit, "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture", curated by David C. Ward and Jonathan Katz. The exhibit focused on depictions of homosexual love through history, and

7224-413: The Smithsonian Archives, "the Congressional appropriation for the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition contained an interesting proviso. It stated that the appropriation was considered a loan, and if income from the exhibition allowed the loan to be repaid, Congress would then allow part of those funds to be used to construct a new building for the National Museum." The success of the exhibits allowed

7353-442: The Smithsonian revealed that the Old Patent Office Building was in serious disrepair. The Smithsonian announced in January 1997 that the building would close in January 2000 for a two-year, $ 42 million renovation. Hartman-Cox Architects was hired to oversee the conservation and repair. But just three years later, as the renovation was about to begin, the cost of repairs had risen to $ 110 million to $ 120 million. Prior to

7482-407: The Smithsonian's administration, finances, governance, and maintenance in the past 19 months far outweighed the damage done by the "Hide/Seek" controversy. Clough admitted, however, that he may have acted too hastily in the matter (although he continued to say he made the right decision), and the regents asked for Smithsonian staff to study the controversy and report back on how to handle such events in

7611-491: The Smithsonian's government affairs and public relations offices, Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough ordered A Fire in My Belly removed from the exhibit on November 30. Clough's decision led to extensive accusations of censorship and claims that the Smithsonian was caving in to pressure from a small group of vocal activists. Smithsonian officials strongly defended the video's removal. "The decision wasn't caving in," said Sullivan. "We don't want to shy away from anything that

7740-481: The Stuart painting controversy, took a six-month-long sabbatical in January 1981. He announced his retirement from the museum in July. Even as the Stuarts controversy occupied the attention of the press, the National Portrait Gallery continued to expand its collection. In April 1979, it obtained five other portraits by Gilbert Stuart. These five paintings — of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson , James Monroe , John Adams , and James Madison — were known as

7869-424: The US alone. This number, compared to other kinds of art museums, makes university art museums perhaps the largest category of art museums in the country. While the first of these collections can be traced to learning collections developed in art academies in Western Europe, they are now associated with and housed in centers of higher education of all types. The word gallery being originally an architectural term,

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7998-457: The acquisition by saying it made the NPG the "epicenter" for Brady scholarship. Later that year, 5,400 Civil War-era glass negatives produced by photographer Alexander Gardner were also purchased from the Meserve family. This included the famous "cracked-plate" portrait of Abraham Lincoln taken in February 1865, which was the last photographic portrait of Lincoln taken before his death in April 1865. Two major portrait purchases were also made in

8127-433: The active lending-out of a museum's collected objects in order to enhance education at schools and to aid in the cultural development of individual members of the community. Finally, Dana saw branch museums throughout a city as a good method of making sure that every citizen has access to its benefits. Dana's view of the ideal museum sought to invest a wider variety of people in it, and was self-consciously not elitist. Since

8256-414: The agency said it would continue to use it for federal office space (which was in short supply) until the Civil Service Commission vacated the structure. On March 21, 1958, Congress unanimously passed legislation authorizing the transfer of the building to the Smithsonian for a national art museum. President Dwight Eisenhower signed the legislation a few days later. Congress passed legislation establishing

8385-418: The art world. The large auction houses, such as Sotheby's , Bonhams , and Christie's , maintain large online databases of art which they have auctioned or are auctioning. Bridgeman Art Library serves as a central source of reproductions of artwork, with access limited to museums, art dealers , and other professionals or professional organizations. There are also online galleries that have been developed by

8514-437: The artist and the NPG curators. The 2006 winner was David Lenz of Milwaukee , Wisconsin, and he was commissioned to paint a portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver , the founder of Special Olympics . It was the first portrait commissioned of an individual who has not served as a president or first lady . The 2009 winner, Dave Woody of Fort Collins, Colorado, was commissioned to photograph food pioneer Alice Waters , founder of

8643-420: The building has a sandstone and marble façade, and porticoes modeled after the Parthenon . The building was used as a hospital during the American Civil War, and both Clara Barton and Walt Whitman worked as nurses there. The Bureau of Indian Affairs , the United States General Land Office , and the Bureau of Pensions jointly occupied the building with the Patent Office through the Civil War and into

8772-518: The building was reported to be in disrepair and at risk of closing down. By 2000, plastic tarps were in place to protect visitors from debris from the crumbling roof. In 2004, the building was closed to the public indefinitely, as funding for the necessary repairs was uncertain. The building's uncertain future and deteriorating condition led the National Trust for Historic Preservation to name it in 2006 as one of America's Most Endangered Places , an annual list of endangered historic sites. In 2009 it

8901-436: The building would reopen in fall 2015 for use as a short-term exhibit space. Smithsonian officials said that the building had been architecturally stabilized, and minor refurbishments made to the bathrooms, HVAC system, and interior paint scheme. Horvath said the building would not completely reopen and its fate had not yet been clarified or determined. After 2015, the building was used occasionally for special events, such as

9030-539: The building's closure in January 2000, a decision was reached to allot about one-third of the building's total space to the National Portrait Gallery while simultaneously eliminating the informal north–south division between the NPG and American Art Museum. This led to acrimony between the two museums, and a public debate about which collection deserved more space. The Smithsonian resolved the dispute practically: Art that best fit an exhibition space got it. (For example, since modern art often tends toward large canvases, this art

9159-430: The change in August 2003. In March 2004, the Smithsonian announced that architect Norman Foster , would design the glass canopy. In November, Robert Kogod (a real estate development executive) and his wife, Arlene (heiress to Charles E. Smith Construction fortune) donated $ 25 million to complete the canopy. By then, costs had risen to $ 298 million. $ 60 million in private funds still needed to be raised. Today,

9288-607: The corner of 7th Street SW and Independence Avenue . According to the aforementioned Smithsonian Archives, "the first event to take place in the new National Museum Building was the Inaugural Ball for President James Garfield and Vice President Chester A. Arthur on March 4, 1881. A temporary wooden floor was laid, two electric lights were placed in the Rotunda, 10,000 bins for hats and coats were erected, 3,000 gas lights were installed, and festive buntings, state flags and seals decorated

9417-631: The country. On July 4, 1973, the NPG opened "The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution, 1770–1800", the first exhibit at the museum dedicated solely to African Americans. Philanthropist Paul Mellon donated 761 portraits by French-American engraver C.B.J.F. de Saint-Mémin to the museum in 1974. Congress passed legislation in January 1976 allowing the National Portrait Gallery to collect portraits in media other than graphic arts . This permitted

9546-416: The curatorial departments. Some of the criteria used in the decision-making process are: The number of existing portraits of the individual already in the collection, the quality of the potential portrait, the uniqueness of the potential portrait, the reputation of the portrait's author, and the cost of the portrait. Formal decisions to acquire a portrait are made at monthly curatorial meetings, then ratified by

9675-597: The display of art can be called an art museum or an art gallery, and the two terms may be used interchangeably. This is reflected in the names of institutions around the world, some of which are considered art galleries, such as the National Gallery in London and Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin , and some of which are considered museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and

9804-687: The display rooms in museums are often called public galleries . Also frequently, a series of rooms dedicated to specific historic periods (e.g. Ancient Egypt ) or other significant themed groupings of works (e.g. the gypsotheque or collection of plaster casts as in the Ashmolean Museum ) within a museum with a more varied collection are referred to as specific galleries, e.g. Egyptian Gallery or Cast Gallery . Works on paper, such as drawings , pastels , watercolors , prints , and photographs are typically not permanently displayed for reasons of conservation . Instead, public access to these materials

9933-526: The early 1980s. One was a Gilbert Stuart portrait of Thomas Jefferson, for which the museum paid $ 1 million to a private collector. A portion of the purchase price came from the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns and operates Jefferson's historic plantation home of Monticello . The two parties agreed have the portrait spend time at both locations. The second major purchase was an Edgar Degas portrait of his friend, Mary Cassatt, for which

10062-690: The entire building solely intended to be an art gallery was arguably established by Sir John Soane with his design for the Dulwich Picture Gallery in 1817. This established the gallery as a series of interconnected rooms with largely uninterrupted wall spaces for hanging pictures and indirect lighting from skylights or roof lanterns . The late 19th century saw a boom in the building of public art galleries in Europe and America, becoming an essential cultural feature of larger cities. More art galleries rose up alongside museums and public libraries as part of

10191-517: The exhibit drew its images almost entirely from the museum's own collection. As of 2011, the National Portrait Gallery was the only museum in the United States dedicated solely to portraiture. The museum had 65 employees and a $ 9 million annual budget in 2013. By February 2013, it housed 21,200 works of art, which had been seen by 1,069,932 visitors in 2012. By 1977, the National Portrait Gallery had three curatorial divisions: Painting and sculpture, prints and drawings, and photography. Initially,

10320-503: The exhibit, also ended all funding for future Smithsonian exhibitions. Both decisions drew criticism from some gay rights supporters, who felt the funding cuts were too draconian since the remainder of the pieces continued to be exhibited. The controversy lasted through the exhibit's scheduled run. In late January 2011, the Smithsonian Board of Regents unanimously gave Clough a vote of confidence, saying his accomplishments in improving

10449-666: The film. In 2006, the museum began hosting a triennial, juried contemporary portrait exhibition called the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Named after long time docent and volunteer Virginia Outwin Boochever, this competition is widely regarded as the most prestigious portrait competition in the United States . Artists working in the fields of painting , drawing , sculpture , photography , and other media are allowed to enter. Works must be created through

10578-475: The former first lady that will one day hang in the National Portrait Gallery. The museum's more notable art pieces include: Among the museum's more prominent collections are: The National Portrait Gallery occupies a portion of the Old Patent Office Building, a National Historic Landmark . The building is located just south of Chinatown in downtown Washington. Constructed between 1836 and 1867,

10707-402: The foundation approved the donation the following day. The $ 30 million donation included $ 6 million to put the portrait on a national tour for three years (the NPG was closed for renovations until 2006), and $ 4 million to construct a new area in the Old Patent Office Building to display it. NPG said it would name this display area for Donald W. Reynolds , the media baron who created

10836-446: The foundation. The National Portrait Gallery closed in January 2000 for a renovation of the Old Patent Office Building. Intended to take two years and cost $ 42 million, the renovation took seven years and cost $ 283 million. Inflation, delays in obtaining approval for the renovation design, the addition of a glass canopy over the open courtyard, and other issues led to increases in both time and costs. During this period, most of

10965-484: The founder of the Newark Museum , saw the traditional art museum as a useless public institution, one that focused more on fashion and conformity rather than education and uplift. Indeed, Dana's ideal museum would be one best suited for active and vigorous use by the average citizen, located near the center of their daily movement. In addition, Dana's conception of the perfect museum included a wider variety of objects than

11094-402: The fund-raising campaign had netted only $ 885,631, with a pledge from the Museum of Fine Arts to match the amount if necessary. This left the campaign $ 4 million short of the purchase price. The Athenaeum refused to lower the price, describing the $ 5 million listing as a significant discount from the portraits' real value. With public and political pressure on the Smithsonian to resolve

11223-460: The future. Not everyone in the Smithsonian agreed with the regents. The Washington Post reported that some (unnamed) Smithsonian museum directors and curators felt there would be a chilling effect from Clough's decision. The Board of Directors of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden wrote an open letter to Clough in which they said they were "deeply troubled by the precedent" to remove

11352-424: The general public, they were often made available for viewing for a section of the public. In classical times , religious institutions began to function as an early form of art gallery. Wealthy Roman collectors of engraved gems and other precious objects, such as Julius Caesar , often donated their collections to temples. It is unclear how easy it was in practice for the public to view these items. In Europe, from

11481-417: The guidance of George Brown Goode , a historian and ichythyologist, a Division of Arts and Industries and Materia Medica was established that same year and materials from the museum were sent to many late nineteenth century expositions to teach people about the country's political and natural history. In 1910, the natural history collections were moved to the new National Museum of Natural History , and

11610-681: The halls. A colossal "Statue of America" stood in the Rotundia, illustrative of peace, justice and liberty, grasping in her uplifted hand an electric light "indicative of the skill, genius, progress, and civilization" of America in the 19th century." Eight months later the museum officially opened to the public. "It contained 80,000 square feet of exhibit space with specially designed mahogany exhibit cases. The exhibit halls contained exhibits on geology, metallurgy, zoology, medicine, anthropology, art, history and technologies such as ceramics, printing, transportation, textiles, fisheries, and agriculture." Under

11739-666: The historic structure, Congress authorized the Smithsonian Institution to use the structure as a museum in March 1958. Shortly thereafter, the Smithsonian Art Commission asked the Chancellor of the Smithsonian to appoint a committee to organize a national portrait museum and to plan for the establishment of this museum in the Old Patent Office Building. This committee was created in 1960. The National Portrait Gallery (NPG)

11868-589: The issue, the Museum of Fine Arts and NPG agreed on February 7, 1980, to jointly purchase the portraits. Under the agreement, the paintings would spend three years at the National Portrait Gallery (beginning in July 1980), and then three years in Boston at the Museum of Fine Arts. Attorney General Bellotti approved the plan in March. Per the agreement, the portraits went on display in Washington on July 1, 1980. NPG director Marvin Sadik, who had expressed his dissatisfaction over

11997-681: The late Sir Robert Walpole , who had amassed one of the greatest such collections in Europe , and house it in a specially built wing of the British Museum for public viewing. After much debate, the idea was eventually abandoned due to the great expense, and twenty years later, the collection was bought by Tsaritsa Catherine the Great of Russia and housed in the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg . The Bavarian royal collection (now in

12126-568: The loan to be paid off soon after the event. As promised, then, a bill was introduced in Congress two years later by the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian to build a suitable structure. The bill included plans developed by General Montgomery C. Meigs , which were based on the Government Building by James Windrim at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition , which was itself inspired by structures at

12255-510: The monarch, and the first purpose-built national art galleries were the Dulwich Picture Gallery , founded in 1814 and the National Gallery, London opened to the public a decade later in 1824. Similarly, the National Gallery in Prague was not formed by opening an existing royal or princely art collection to the public, but was created from scratch as a joint project of some Czech aristocrats in 1796. The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

12384-513: The municipal drive for literacy and public education. Over the middle and late twentieth century, earlier architectural styles employed for art museums (such as the Beaux-Arts style of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City or the Gothic and Renaissance Revival architecture of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum) succumbed to modern styles , such as Deconstructivism . Examples of this trend include

12513-606: The museum acquired an 1880 self-portrait by Mary Cassatt , one of only two painted by her. Eleven months later, the museum acquired a self-portrait by John Singleton Copley . The roundel (a circular canvas), one of only four self-portraits by the celebrated early American artist, was donated to the NPG by the Cafritz Foundation . In May 1978, Time magazine donated 850 original portraits which had graced its cover between 1928 and 1978. A major exhibit of these pieces debuted in May 1979. A major controversy occurred in 1979 over

12642-401: The museum not scheduled to reopen until 2005. Just a month later, the reopening was pushed back even further to July 2006. In 2003, the government increased its contribution to $ 166 million. Smithsonian officials subsequently began discussing a major change to the renovation design: Adding a glass roof to the open courtyard in the center of the Old Patent Office Building. Congress approved

12771-562: The museum obtains presidential images has changed over the years. Presidential portraits from 1962 to 1987 were usually obtained through purchase or donation. Beginning in 1998, NPG began commissioning portraits of presidents, starting with George H. W. Bush . In 2000, NPG began commissioning portraits of First Ladies as well, beginning with Hillary Clinton . Funds for these commissions are privately raised, and each portrait costs about $ 150,000 to $ 200,000. Former president Trump has used his Save America PAC to pay $ 650,000 for portraits of him and

12900-477: The museum paid $ 1.3 million. The museum suffered a major theft in 1984 — although it was not a portrait. On December 31, 1984, a thief pried open a display case and stole four handwritten documents accompanying several portraits of Civil War generals. One of the documents was written and signed by President Abraham Lincoln. The remaining three were written and signed by Civil War generals Ulysses S. Grant , George Meade , and George Armstrong Custer . The FBI

13029-476: The museum that year. The first such acquisition was the Frederick Hill Meserve Collection of 5,419 glass negatives produced by the studio of famed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady and his assistants. Using historically accurate chemicals, paper, and techniques, prints were made of the negatives and the prints placed on rotating display. The Washington Post later described the importance of

13158-480: The offer came with a deadline of April 1, 2001. A search for a donor, personally led by Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small and the Smithsonian's Board of Regents, proved fruitless after three months. Worried Smithsonian officials then went public in February 2001 with a plea for a donor to come forth. On March 13, just two weeks before the sale deadline, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation donated $ 30 million to buy

13287-512: The old National Museum Building was renamed the Arts and Industries Building. In 1964 additional exhibitions were moved to the National Museum of History and Technology, now known as the National Museum of American History . In the middle of 1975, the building was closed to the public to begin moving its remaining exhibits to the newly constructed National Air and Space Museum . Restoration work

13416-453: The painting was purchased by the 5th Earl of Rosebery. The Lansdowne portrait was displayed only three times in the United States (although several copies remained in America). On its third trip in 1968, it was exhibited by the National Portrait Gallery, and it remained there on indefinite loan. Lord Rosebery offered to sell the painting for $ 20 million, a price at the low end of estimates. But

13545-582: The paintings of the Orleans Collection , which were housed in a wing of the Palais-Royal in Paris and could be visited for most of the 18th century. In Italy, the art tourism of the Grand Tour became a major industry from the 18th century onwards, and cities made efforts to make their key works accessible. The Capitoline Museums began in 1471 with a donation of classical sculpture to the city of Rome by

13674-400: The past 50 years. Two very important daguerreotypes (an early photographic process) were purchased in the 1990s. The first was of African American abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass , acquired in 1990. It is one of only four daguerreotypes of Douglass known to exist. That year, the number of images in the museum's photography collection reached 8,500 objects. Six years later,

13803-469: The portraits be transferred to it. David E. Finley, Jr. , an attorney and one of Mellon's closest friends, was named the first director of the National Gallery of Art, and he pushed hard over the next several years for the establishment of a portrait gallery. In 1957, a proposal was made by the federal government to demolish the Old Patent Office Building. After a public outcry and an agreement to save

13932-650: The post-war period. The massive increase in pension processing required by the Civil War led to the construction of a new Pension Bureau Building into which the Bureau of Pensions moved in 1887. The General Land Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs vacated the building in 1898. The United States Civil Service Commission and the Government Accounting Office occupied the building after the Patent Office vacated it in 1932. The Government Accounting Office vacated

14061-467: The public trust and a misuse of taxpayer money, although it was funded by private donations. House Majority Leader Representative Eric Cantor threatened to reduce the Smithsonian's budget if the film remained on view. After consulting with National Portrait Gallery director Martin Sullivan, co-curator David C. Ward (but not with co-curator Jonathan David Katz ), Smithsonian Undersecretary Richard Kurin, and

14190-485: The sale, arguing that the portraits were of national historic value and belonged in the Smithsonian. A campaign by prominent Bostonians tried to raise $ 5 million to keep the portraits in Massachusetts. Boston Mayor Kevin H. White sued to keep the portraits in Boston, naming Massachusetts Attorney General Francis X. Bellotti , whose office the Commonwealth's constitution designates "custodian of public property" in

14319-478: The structure in 1942, after its new headquarters nearby was complete. The Civil Service Commission began constructing its own headquarters, and planned to vacate the building in 1962. Local D.C. businessmen asked the General Services Administration (GSA) to tear down the building and sell the land so a private parking garage could be built on the centrally located site. Legislation for this purpose

14448-471: The suit. "Everybody knows Washington has no culture—they have to buy it," White said. On April 12, the Athenaeum and NPG agreed to delay the sale until December 31, 1979, to give the Boston fund-raising effort a chance. Although not completely successful, the lawsuit had one effect: Attorney General Bellotti announced in mid-summer that the Stuart portraits could not be sold without his permission. By November 1979,

14577-399: The traditional art museum, including industrial tools and handicrafts that encourage imagination in areas traditionally considered mundane. This view of the art museum envisions it as one well-suited to an industrial world, indeed enhancing it. Dana viewed paintings and sculptures as much less useful than industrial products, comparing the museum to a department store. In addition, he encouraged

14706-621: The various nations involved in World War I. Among the committee's members were oil company executive Herbert L. Pratt , Ethel Sperry Crocker , an art aficionado and wife of William Henry Crocker , the founder of Crocker National Bank , architect Abram Garfield , Mary Williamson Averell , wife of railway executive E. H. Harriman , financier J. P. Morgan , attorney Charles Phelps Taft , brother of President William Howard Taft , steel magnate Henry Clay Frick , and paleontologist Charles Doolittle Walcott . The portraits commissioned went on display in

14835-503: Was Charles Willson Peale 's American Pantheon , also known as Peale's Collection of Portraits of American Patriots , established in 1796. It closed after two years. In 1859, the National Portrait Gallery in London opened, but few Americans took notice. The idea of a federally owned national portrait gallery can be traced back to 1886, when Robert C. Winthrope, president of the Massachusetts Historical Society , visited

14964-606: Was a continuation of trends already well established. The building now occupied by the Prado in Madrid was built before the French Revolution for the public display of parts of the royal art collection, and similar royal galleries were opened to the public in Vienna , Munich and other capitals. In Great Britain, however, the corresponding Royal Collection remained in the private hands of

15093-464: Was authorized and founded by Congress in 1962. The enabling legislation defined its purpose as displaying portraits of "men and women who have made significant contributions to the history, development, and culture of the people of the United States." The legislation specified, however, that the museum's collection be limited to painting, prints, drawings, and engravings. Despite the Smithsonian's own extensive collection of art and Mellon's collection, there

15222-465: Was commissioned in April 1796 by Senator William Bingham of Pennsylvania —one of the wealthiest men in America at the time. The 8 by 5 feet (2.4 by 1.5 m) portrait was given as a gift to British Prime Minister William Petty FitzMaurice . FitzMaurice was the 2nd Earl of Shelburne, and later became the first Marquess of Lansdowne (hence the name of the portrait). Lansdowne died in 1805, and in 1890

15351-531: Was contacted and worked with Smithsonian police to investigate the crime. Within two weeks, a historic documents dealer contacted the FBI and said he had been offered the documents for sale. On February 8, 1985, police arrested Norman James Chandler, a part-time mechanic's assistant from Maryland, for the theft. Chandler quickly pleaded guilty. He was sentenced in April 1985 to two years in jail (with all but six months suspended) and two years of probation, and required to pay

15480-457: Was even more impressive in the face of flat or declining attendance at all other Smithsonian museums. The higher attendance was not all positive. Some patrons spit on art they did not like, while others kissed or touched some paintings. Video security cameras were hastily installed in September 2007 to stop the vandalism. By the end of the year, more than 786,000 people had visited the two museums. Art museum An art museum or art gallery

15609-554: Was for example dismissed as director of the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) in Berlin in 1933 by the new Nazi authorities for not being politically suitable. The question of the place of the art museum in its community has long been under debate. Some see art museums as fundamentally elitist institutions, while others see them as institutions with the potential for societal education and uplift. John Cotton Dana , an American librarian and museum director, as well as

15738-466: Was introduced in Congress in the waning days of the 82nd United States Congress in 1952, but did not pass. The legislation encountered resistance from a few members of Congress, architects, and the influential Committee of 100 on the Federal City (a non-profit advocate for responsible planning and land use). GSA reversed course and said in June 1956 it no longer wanted to demolish the building. However,

15867-531: Was performed over the next year at a cost of $ 4.5 million, including the installation of air conditioning. In May 1976, the Arts and Industries Building reopened with 1876: A Centennial Exhibition , featuring the Philadelphia Exposition artifacts it was originally built to house. Added later were series of temporary exhibitions and a children's theater, known as the Discovery Theater . By 1995,

15996-414: Was placed above the main entrance on the north side. The interior of the building was partially lit through the use of skylights and clerestory windows. An iron truss roof covers the building. In 1883, the exterior was adjusted to use a more vibrant maroon-colored brick. The building is composed of four pavilions, one at each corner, about 40 feet (12 m) square and three stories tall. These surround

16125-598: Was scheduled to receive $ 25 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for renovation work. Revitalization of the shell alone was solicited in 2010. A complete restoration was projected to cost $ 200 million ($ 65 million in structural renovations alone) and last until 2014. In January 2014, the Smithsonian announced that the building would remain closed for the foreseeable future, citing funding concerns. But on April 12, 2015, Smithsonian Acting Secretary Albert Horvath said about 40 percent of

16254-607: Was sited slightly farther back from the Mall than the Smithsonian Castle to avoid obscuring the view of the Castle from the Capitol . The building was designed to be symmetrical, composed of a Greek cross with a central rotunda. The exterior was constructed with geometric patterns of polychrome brick, and a sculpture entitled Columbia Protecting Science and Industry by sculptor Caspar Buberl

16383-556: Was the Green Vault of the Kingdom of Saxony in the 1720s. Privately funded museums open to the public began to be established from the 17th century onwards, often based around a collection of the cabinet of curiosities type. The first such museum was the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford , opened in 1683 to house and display the artefacts of Elias Ashmole that were given to Oxford University in

16512-415: Was the first exhibit hosted by a museum of national stature to address the topic. It was also the largest and most expensive exhibit in the NPG's history, and more private donors contributed to it than to any prior NPG exhibit. Included in the 105 pieces in the exhibit was a four-minute, edited version of artist David Wojnarowicz 's short silent film A Fire in My Belly . Eleven seconds of the video depicted

16641-417: Was very little for the National Portrait Gallery to display. "To found a portrait gallery in the 1960s," Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley said, was difficult because "American portraiture has already reached the zenith in price and the nadir in supply." Ripley, whose leadership of the Smithsonian began in 1964, was a strong supporter of the new museum, however. He encouraged the museum's curators to build

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