NGA | 2012 Annual Report
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NA TIO NAL G AL LER Y O F A R T 2012 ANNUAL REPort 1 ART & EDUCATION Diana Bracco BOARD OF TRUSTEES COMMITTEE Vincent J. Buonanno (as of 30 September 2012) Victoria P. Sant W. Russell G. Byers Jr. Chairman Calvin Cafritz Earl A. Powell III Leo A. Daly III Frederick W. Beinecke Barney A. Ebsworth Mitchell P. Rales Gregory W. Fazakerley Sharon P. Rockefeller Doris Fisher John Wilmerding Juliet C. Folger Marina Kellen French FINANCE COMMITTEE Morton Funger Mitchell P. Rales Lenore Greenberg Chairman Frederic C. Hamilton Timothy F. Geithner Richard C. Hedreen Secretary of the Treasury Teresa Heinz Frederick W. Beinecke John Wilmerding Victoria P. Sant Helen Henderson Sharon P. Rockefeller Chairman President Benjamin R. Jacobs Victoria P. Sant Sheila C. Johnson John Wilmerding Betsy K. Karel Linda H. Kaufman AUDIT COMMITTEE Robert L. Kirk Frederick W. Beinecke Leonard A. Lauder Chairman LaSalle D. Leffall Jr. Timothy F. Geithner Secretary of the Treasury Edward J. Mathias Mitchell P. Rales Diane A. Nixon John G. Pappajohn Sharon P. Rockefeller Frederick W. Beinecke Mitchell P. Rales Victoria P. Sant Sally E. Pingree John Wilmerding Diana C. Prince Robert M. Rosenthal TRUSTEES EMERITI Roger W. Sant Robert F. Erburu Andrew M. Saul John C. Fontaine Thomas A. Saunders III Julian Ganz, Jr. Fern M. Schad Alexander M. Laughlin Albert H. Small David O. Maxwell Michelle Smith Ruth Carter Stevenson Benjamin F. Stapleton Luther M. Stovall Sharon P. Rockefeller John G. Roberts Jr. EXECUTIVE OFFICERS Ladislaus von Hoffmann Chief Justice of the Diana Walker United States Victoria P. Sant President Alice L. Walton Earl A. Powell III William L. Walton Director Walter L. Weisman Franklin Kelly John R. West Deputy Director and Chief Curator Andrea Woodner Elizabeth Cropper Dean, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts HONORARY TRUSTEES’ Darrell R. Willson COUNCIL Administrator (as of 30 September 2012) William W. McClure Edwin L. Cox Hillary Rodham Clinton Timothy F. Geithner Treasurer Secretary of State Secretary of the Treasury Robert F. Erburu Elizabeth A. Croog Secretary and General Counsel John C. Fontaine Joseph J. Krakora Julian Ganz, Jr. Executive Officer, Development Alexander M. Laughlin and External Affairs David O. Maxwell Ruth Carter Stevenson TRUSTEES’ COUNCIL John C. Whitehead (as of 30 September 2012) James T. Dyke Chair William H. Ahmanson Max N. Berry G. Wayne Clough Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 3 NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART Washington, DC 2 3 PRESIDENT’S FOREWORD The National Gallery of Art experienced a period of great My fellow trustees and I especially would like to thank excitement in fiscal year 2012. More than 4.2 million those who made major commitments to the Gallery visitors came to see special exhibitions that revealed a spec- this year. We were delighted to celebrate the gift of the tacular display of cultural riches from around the world. Kaufman Collection, a distinguished assemblage of early From late-fifteenth-century Flemish tapestries from the American furniture and decorative arts promised by Collegiate Church of Pastrana in Spain to Itō Jakuchū’s Linda Kaufman and the late George M. Kaufman, now thirty-scroll set of bird-and-flower paintings from the on view in the West Building. Our sincere thanks go Shōkokuji Monastery in Kyoto to the renowned works of to Juliet and Lee Folger for their generous gift through the American artist George Bellows, all our exhibitions The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund for the acquisition of reminded visitors how much can be learned about a soci- Portrait of a Gentleman Wearing a Fancy Ruff by Thomas ety through the study of its artistic output. The Gallery’s de Keyser. We are also grateful to those individuals and website made these discoveries possible for our 17.5 mil- foundations that made significant commitments for lion online visitors. All the while, vital behind-the-scenes the special exhibitions and art acquisition programs: activities such as conservation and scholarly research Estate of Mrs. Charles (Florian) Carr, Greg and Candy fostered the development and exchange of ideas on a Fazakerley, Gail and Benjamin Jacobs, Barbara and Jack wide range of other topics. These programs and activi- Kay, Mark and Ann Kington/The Kington Foundation, ties would not be possible without the public-private the Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation, The Honorable partnership that has been the bedrock of the Gallery Alfred H. Moses and Ms. Fern M. Schad, Helen Porter since its founding. We extend our sincere appreciation and James T. Dyke, and the Robert H. Smith Family to the President and the Congress for their steadfast Foundation. The trustees are also appreciative of the support of the Gallery, a commitment that continues to Terra Foundation for American Art’s strong support of be matched by generous donors nationwide. the Gallery’s American art program. We are also grateful This year marked the thirtieth anniversary of the to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and The Andrew W. founding of the Trustees’ Council, which serves the Mellon Foundation for their ongoing dedication to help- Gallery as a national advisory body to the Board of ing us fulfill the Gallery’s scholarly mission. Trustees. We were delighted to welcome several returning International corporations and foundations, as well as members in fiscal year 2012: Vincent Buonanno, Morton the diplomatic community, were integral to the success of Funger, Frederic Hamilton, Teresa Heinz, Edward the Gallery’s special exhibition program in 2012. Colorful Mathias, Robert Rosenthal, Andrew Saul, and Diana Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Itō Jakuchū Walker. My fellow trustees and I would like to express (1716–1800) was made possible by a consortium of our thanks to all of our Trustees’ Council members for Japanese corporations led by Toyota and Nikkei, Inc., as their dedicated service. well as Airbus, the world’s leading aircraft manufacturer. We mourned the loss of several close Gallery friends this The exhibition was also supported by The Exhibition year, including the renowned connoisseur and collector of Circle and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter contemporary art, Herbert Vogel. The remarkable story of Foundation. The Embassy of Japan is also to be commend- Herb and his wife, Dorothy, who amassed a world-class ed for its help in making this unprecedented exhibition collection of more than 5,000 contemporary works and possible. We are grateful to the Anna-Maria and Stephen distributed them to the Gallery and museums through- Kellen Foundation and the Institut Ramon Llull for their out the nation, is an inspirational model of philanthropy support for Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape, as well as to that will have a lasting legacy. We were also saddened by Nippon Television Network Corporation, Tokyo, Japan; the death of Bob Duemling, a longtime member of the the Terra Foundation for American Art; the Henry Luce Trustees’ Council who shared with us a passion for art and Foundation; the Cordover Family Foundation; and The architecture. Together with his wife, Louisa, Bob gave gen- Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the erously to enhance the collection and special exhibitions Arts for their sponsorship of the landmark exhibition program. The Gallery also lost close friends Evelyn Lauder, George Bellows. The trustees also extend their thanks Don de Laski, Robert Looker, and Frank Pearl. to Helen Henderson and The HRH Foundation for its 4 NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART ongoing commitment to funding educational films about The trustees also would like to express their gratitude our special exhibitions, including George Bellows. Bank of to members of The Legacy Circle, which recognizes those America and its Bank of America Foundation continued who have included the Gallery in their testamentary plans. its longtime support by sponsoring the conservation of This year a number of individuals have elected to support the Gallery’s Gilbert Stuart portraits. Bank of America the Gallery through bequests, charitable gift annuities, also supported the 2012 exhibition Roy Lichtenstein: A charitable lead and remainder trusts, and other planned Retrospective, which was also supported by the Robert and giving vehicles. Planned gifts are essential to this institu- Mercedes Eichholz Foundation as well as the longtime tion’s long-term success, and we greatly appreciate our Gallery supporter Altria Group. The trustees greatly Legacy Circle members’ foresight and generosity. appreciate the support of The Leonard and Evelyn The strong partnership between the federal government Lauder Foundation for the exhibition Shock of the News, and the private sector makes it possible for the millions and are also thankful for the following donors’ continued who visit the Gallery every year to have access to some of dedication to our special exhibition programs: Buffy and the world’s greatest artistic treasures. My fellow trustees William Cafritz, the Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family and I are grateful to all those who make these experiences Foundation and Marcella and Neil Cohen, the Marshall possible, especially the staff and volunteers, and we look B. Coyne Foundation, Sally Engelhard Pingree and forward to continuing to work with them and the many The Charles Engelhard Foundation, Hata Stichting, and who support the Gallery to uphold the excellence of this the Trellis Fund. fine institution. The Exhibition Circle provided further support for several exhibitions in 2012, including Elegance and Refinement: The Still-Life Paintings of Willem van Aelst and Picasso’s Drawings, 1890–1921: Reinventing Tradition, which was also sponsored by The Hearst Foundation, Victoria P. Sant Inc. This crucial annual giving program also made pos- sible two exhibitions in the Tower series: In the Tower: Mel Bochner and In the Tower: Barnett Newman, which were also sponsored by the Tower Project. The Gallery’s modern and contemporary art collection continued to thrive this year, thanks to the annual sup- port of the Collectors Committee.