English

Renaissance Medals From The Samuel H. Kress Collection

Samuel H. Kress Foundation amassed one of the most astonishing collections of European Old Master paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts ever assembled through the efforts of a private individual. Even more remarkable was the manner in which Kress would share his collection with the American people. Starting in the early 1930s, Kress began to divide his private collection among 90 institutions in 33 states. The largest single donation went to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., while the rest of the Kress Collection was distributed to various institutions across the United States. 700 Old Master works, in groups of twenty to sixty, were given to regional museums in 18 American cities. These Kress regional collections would bring Italian paintings to many communities throughout the country, often for the first time. Another 200 paintings were divided into Kress study collections for 23 colleges and universities. Major gifts of special collections were also donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Pierpont Morgan Library, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

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