Art Treasures for America from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation

December 10, 1961 – February 4, 1962
Ground Floor, Central Gallery, Galleries G-7 through G-12

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

Overview: 101 paintings and 21 pieces of decorative art, tapestries, and sculpture were selected from Kress gifts to 21 museums. The exhibition was held in conjunction with a ceremony on Saturday night, December 9, presided over by Chief Justice Earl Warren, at which the Kress collection was given to the National Gallery and to 18 other museums. 3 additional institutions had received gifts previously. The recipients were in selected cities where the S.H. Kress and Company 5-10-25 Cent Stores were located. The only requirement was that each museum provide suitable display space; the Kress Foundation assumed all other responsibilities, such as restoration, framing, crating, shipping, and insurance. Guy Emerson and Mary M. Davis directed the art project for the foundation.

Book: Art Treasures for America: An Anthology of Paintings and Sculpture in the Samuel H. Kress Collection, by Charles Seymour Jr. London: Phaidon Press, 1961.

Checklist: Exhibition of Art Treasures for America from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1961.

Attendance: 51,535