Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1951-1956

March 18 – October 30, 1956
Main Floor, Galleries 12, 17, 18, 25, 34 through 40, Lobbies A, C Ground Floor, Kress Renaissance Bronze Galleries 1, 2, 3

Veronese, *Rebecca at the Well*, 1580/1585, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.82

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: The exhibition celebrated the 15th anniversary of the opening of the National Gallery. For the occasion, 70 paintings and 24 sculptures, acquired in the last 5 years by the Kress Foundation, were placed on indefinite loan. The new installations and rehanging involved 26 galleries of paintings and 6 galleries of sculpture. The famous Gustave Dreyfus collection of 1,306 Renaissance bronzes, purchased en bloc by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, was also opened to the public and installed in 3 specially prepared galleries on the ground floor under the supervision of Perry B. Cott. An evening reception took place on March 17, 1956; attendance at the special evening opening was 11,690.

Catalog: Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1951-1956. Painting section by Fern R. Shapley and William Suida, sculpture section by John Pancoast. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1956.