mma BOARD OF TRUSTEES Richard C. Hedreen (as of 30 September 2004) Eric H. Holder Jr. Victoria P. Sant Raymond J. Horowitz Chairman Robert J. Hurst Earl A. Powell III Alberto Ibarguen Robert F. Erburu Betsy K. Karel Julian Ganz, Jr. Lmda H. Kaufman David 0. Maxwell James V. Kimsey John C. Fontaine Mark J. Kington Robert L. Kirk Leonard A. Lauder & Alexander M. Laughlin Robert F. Erburu Victoria P. Sant Victoria P. Sant Joyce Menschel Chairman President Chairman Harvey S. Shipley Miller John W. Snow Secretary of the Treasury John G. Pappajohn Robert F. Erburu Sally Engelhard Pingree Julian Ganz, Jr. Diana Prince David 0. Maxwell Mitchell P. Rales John C. Fontaine Catherine B. Reynolds KW,< Sharon Percy Rockefeller Robert M. Rosenthal B. Francis Saul II if Robert F. Erburu Thomas A. Saunders III Julian Ganz, Jr. David 0. Maxwell Chairman I Albert H. Small John W. Snow Secretary of the Treasury James S. Smith Julian Ganz, Jr. Michelle Smith Ruth Carter Stevenson David 0. Maxwell Roselyne C. Swig Victoria P. Sant Luther M. Stovall John C. Fontaine Joseph G. Tompkins Ladislaus von Hoffmann John C. Whitehead Ruth Carter Stevenson IJohn Wilmerding John C. Fontaine J William H. Rehnquist Alexander M. Laughlin Dian Woodner ,id Chief Justice of the Robert H. Smith ,w United States Victoria P. Sant John C. Fontaine President Chair Earl A. Powell III Frederick W. Beinecke Director Heidi L. Berry Alan Shestack W. Russell G. Byers Jr. Deputy Director Elizabeth Cropper Melvin S. Cohen Dean, Center for Advanced Edwin L. Cox Colin L. Powell John W. Snow Study in the Visual Arts Secretary of State Secretary of the Robert W. Duemling Darrell R. Willson Treasury Barney A. Ebsworth Administrator Mark D. Ein James E. Duff Aaron I. Fleischman Treasurer Juliet C. Folger Elizabeth A. Croog Secretary and General Counsel Marina K. French Joseph J. Krakora Morton Funger External and International Lenore Greenberg Affairs Officer Rose Ellen Meyerhoff Greene Frederic C. Hamilton Lawrence M. Small Secreta^ of the Smithsphian Institution • ,8 NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART Washington, D.C. The National Gallery of Art as seen from the Capitol Building n my first year as president of the National Gallery of Art, 1 have been privileged to work with a truly remarkable and dedicated team in fulfilling the Gallery's mandate of excellence. The Board of Trustees and Trustees' Council have provided extraordinary leadership and support this year, as have Rusty Powell, the Gallery's director, and the entire staff". I also want to congratulate Robert H. Smith, who retired from the board after eighteen years of exemplary service as trustee, including the last ten as president. It is a pleasure to serve on the Board of Trustees with Robert F. Erburu of Los Angeles, who Dcontinues as chairman; John C. Fontaine of New York City; Julian Ganz,Jr., oi" Los Angeles; and David O. Maxwell of Washington, D.C., all of whom continue as general trustees. The Chief Justice of the United States, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution serve as ex-officio trustees. The Trustees' Council, a national advisory body to the board, continues to offer invaluable counsel and assistance to the Gallery. We extend a warm welcome to two new members of the Council in 2004: Betsy K. Karel of Washington, DC., and Frederick W. Beinecke of New York City. My fellow trustees and I are grateful to Jack Fontaine, chair of the Council, and to all of our Council members for their dedication and generosity. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of my involvement with the Gallery is to see how Andrew W. Mellon's vision of a national art collection continues to be nurtured today. No single gift this fiscal year captures Mr. Mellon's ideal more beautifully than John Wilinerding's gift and promised gift to the Gallery of his acclaimed nineteenth-century American art collection. Fifty-one masterpieces by George Caleb Bingham, Martin Johnson Heade, Frederic Edwin Church, Fitz Hugh Lane, Winslow Homer, and Thomas Eakins, among others, which were featured in the year's special exhibition American Masters from Bingham to Eakins: The John Wilmerding Collection, reflect his pas- sion for American art as a scholar, collector, and benefactor. This gift of Professor Wilmerding, a Trustees' Council member and former deputy director of the Gallery, provides our visitors with a rich appreciation of our nation's artistic heritage. Gifts such as this demonstrate the strength of the ongoing partnership between the federal gov- ernment and the private sector which has created and continues to sustain the excellence of the Gallery's collections and programs. I speak for the trustees in reiterating our deep appreciation to the President and the Congress for their steadfast commitment to the Gallery. The federal government's support of our operations and maintenance is crucial funding that enables us to present our renowned collections and programs to millions of visitors year-round free of charge. We are also grateful for the generosity of many individuals, foundations, and corporations supporting a wide range of programs, such as art acquisitions, special exhibitions, educational activities, scholarly research, library acquisitions, and conservation. Among the most important of these activities are the Gallery's special exhibitions, which were strengthened by several significant gifts in fiscal year 2004. We are particularly grateful for the Annenberg Foundation's commitment to the Gallery's Fund for the International Exchange of Art providing endowment funds for the exhibitions program.The Gallery also received a leadership gift from the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation to sponsor several major exhibitions, including this spring's presentation of Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. My fellow trustees and I also would like to express our appreciation to H. R. H. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States, for his generous sponsorship of Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Victoria and Albert Museum. Our warmest thanks also go to Altria Group, Grupo Televisa, S.A., Lehman-Smith + McLeish, and Target Stores for helping make some of our special exhibitions possible this year. 4 Th, f, | e Galler, . y relie|. s solel11 y on gift. f s ot/ - In addition to the Wilmerding gift, the U % - , acquisitions, including a generous gift from The Glenstone Foundation, found- ed by Mitchell P. Rales, to acquire Jean j |§ 1 Wp ill Several longtime Gallery friends !; ## made substantial gifts this year to pro- : j B ' mote our scholarly research activities. M \ | My fellow trustees and I particularly j | W *8f-%-• ^ 21T thank trustee emeritus Robert H. 3 4 I&11 I•i: 1 Smith, who has given funds to provide 5 fl % housing for visiting scholars of the ' ' % . Center for Advanced Study in the t & ' ft' (> !• j j j || If1 |; | I ilj|M v,$1 A„. Th, At7 w M,„7 ; wmmmmmm y ' -- — Foundation awarded the Gallery a chal- i lenge grant to establish an endowment for scholarly publications, which are vital to the advancement of arts scholarship worldwide. A SAN FORD GIFFORD Annual giving through the Collectors Committee and The Circle of the National Gallery of Art The Artist Sketching at is important to the success of many programs. Since 1975, the Gallery's modern and contemporary Mount Desert, Maine art collection has been enhanced with works purchased through the yearly contributions of the Gift (Partial and Collectors Committee, a group of leading collectors and arts patrons from around the country. At Promised) of Jo Ann and its spring 2004 meeting, the Committee voted to use its funds to acquire Lee Bontecou's Untitled, Julian Ganz in honor of 1962, giving the Gallery its first major work by this renowned postwar artist. The Board of Trustees John Wilmerding would like to thank the Committees co-chairs, Barney A. Ebsworth and Doris Fisher, for their leadership and all Collectors Committee members for their ongoing support. This year we welcomed Mary Jo Kirk and Edward J. Mathias, both ofWashington, DC., as co-chairs of The Circle, succeeding Juliet C. Folger and Marina K. French. Mary Jo and Ed lead a program that numbers more than eleven hundred members nationwide and provides annual unrestricted funding for essential Gallery activities. We look forward to working with them in the coming years and extend our appreciation to Julie and Marina for their enthusiastic and dedicated leadership to this vital Gallery constituency. We are profoundly grateful to the federal government and private donors for their ongoing commitment and to the millions each year who visit in person or online. The National Gallery of Art is an inestimable gift to the nation and to the world, made possible through extraordinary vision and enduring generosity. We remain steadfast in upholding the tradition of excellence that has distinguished this great institution since its founding. Victoria P. Sant American Masters from Bingham to Eakins: The John Wilmerding Collection DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT iscal year 2004 was a year of exciting activity as the National Gallery of Art enhanced its collections, explored great art of many centuries and cultures in special exhibitions, found new ways to make our treasures available at home and abroad, and preserved the works of art in our care. Continuing in the tradition begun by Andrew W. Mellon, generous donors enriched the collection with gifts of art. Notable among these was John Wilmerding's extraordinary collection of American paintings, watercolors, and drawings from the mid-to-late-nineteenth century, presented in an exhibition in May. It was great cause for celebration when he announced that all the works would remain at the Gallery and that Mississippi Boatman, one of George Caleb Bingham's acclaimed scenes of frontier river life, would be an immediate gift.