{"id":1835708,"date":"2026-03-18T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1835708"},"modified":"2026-03-18T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:00:00","slug":"national-gallery-of-art-acquires-hundreds-of-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1835708","title":{"rendered":"National Gallery of Art Acquires Hundreds of Works"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\tThe National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., announced today the acquisition of nearly 600 works to its permanent collection, spanning from the 17th century to today.<\/p>\n
\n\tThis round of acquisitions, made during the second half of 2025, shows some of the museum\u2019s current priorities in terms of shoring up its holdings, including early photography and recent large-scale works. Among these is a trove of 35 Civil War photographs by the likes of Alexander Gardner, George N. Barnard, and Andrew Joseph Russell, alongside pieces by Dan Flavin, Barbara Kruger, Claire Fontaine, and Pep\u00f3n Osorio.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAs stewards of the nation\u2019s collection, we are honored to continue expanding our holdings with significant works that tell new stories and deepen our collection across mediums, highlighting artistic developments throughout history and uplifting ongoing innovation by contemporary artists,\u201d chief curatorial and conservation officer E. Carmen Ramos said in a statement. \u201cThis group of acquisitions unites works of profound historical relevance with work by living artists continuing to shape artistic dialogues, expanding key areas of our collection, particularly in the fields of photography and sculpture.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tSeveral of the newly added works are the first by their respective artist to enter the National Gallery\u2019s collection, including pieces by contemporary artists like, Fern\u00e1ndez, Osorio, and Salman Toor, as well as 17th-century Italian engraver Teresa del P\u00f2 and 18th-century Swiss painter Anna Waser.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOur latest acquisitions highlight the National Gallery\u2019s commitment to showcasing artistic excellence by deepening our collection holdings, with the aim of providing nuanced explorations of art history over many centuries,\u201d NGA director Kaywin Feldman said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\n\tBelow, a look at several of the National Gallery\u2019s newly acquired masterpieces.<\/p>\n
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Giorgio de Chirico, Elettra Consolatrice (Electra Consoler)<\/em>, 1968<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: National Gallery of Art, Gift of Maurizia Grossman in memory of \nmy father, Francesco Lazari, 2025.112.1\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\tThe National Gallery owns only two paintings by Giorgio de Chirico, Conservation among the Ruins<\/em> (1927) and Via Appia Antica<\/em> (ca. 1945\/1950), both of which show the artist\u2019s lifelong fascination with antiquity. Elettra Consolatrice<\/em>, the first drawing by the artist to enter the museum\u2019s collection, seems to meld the artist\u2019s earlier Metaphysical Painting style, with his signature mannequin heads, with Classicism, as seen by the figures\u2019 Greco-Roman robes. This work was likely a study for a painting owned by de Chirico\u2019s foundation that is currently on view in \u201cGiorgio de Chirico. L\u2019ultima metafisica\u201d at Italy\u2019s Palazzo dei Musei di Modena.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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Teresita Fern\u00e1ndez, Chorus<\/em>, 2019\/2024<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: National Gallery of Art, Avalon Fund, 2025.59.1\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\tOn the contemporary side of things, the NGA has acquired Chorus<\/em>, a mixed-media installation featuring dozens of conch shells that Teresita Fern\u00e1ndez has coated in graphite. The work combines the artist\u2019s interest in drawing and sculpture with a sound element, coming from the shells. Chorus<\/em> is the first work by Fern\u00e1ndez to enter the museum\u2019s collection and its acquisition creates \u201cnew opportunities to draw connections between landscape drawing, abstraction, minimalism, and land art,\u201d according to a release.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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Salman Toor, Wandering Beggars<\/em>, 2022<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: National Gallery of Art, Gift of the Bronzini Vender Family, 2025.86.1\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\tOne of the few contemporary paintings to enter the NGA\u2019s collection during this round of acquisitions, Salman Toor\u2019s Wandering Beggars<\/em> references both the work of Vincent van Gogh and the centuries-old format of the tondo painting. In a release the NGA also connected Wandering Beggars<\/em> to Picasso\u2019s Family of Saltimbanques<\/em> (1905), an iconic work of the museum\u2019s permanent collection. The first work by Toor to enter the National Gallery\u2019s holdings, this painting exemplifies \u201cToor\u2019s approach to reinterpreting narrative painting traditions through the lens of contemporary culture,\u201d per a release.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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Alexander Gardner, Lincoln\u2019s Second Inauguration<\/em>, March 4, 1865<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: National Gallery of Art, Gift of Funds from Ronald M. Costell, M.D. and the Estate of Marsha E. Swiss, 2025.44.20\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\tAfter emigrating from Scotland, Alexander Gardner settled in Washington, D.C., where he managed the gallery for American photographer Matthew Brady. Having taken up photography at some point in the 1850s, Gardner would become best-known for his images of the US Civil War, capturing a range of images from daily life both of civilians and soldiers to felled soldiers on the battlefield and the ruins of war. Seen, here is Gardner\u2019s image of the crowd gathered in D.C. to witness Abraham\u2019s second presidential inauguration, a month before Robert E. Lee\u2019s surrender and Lincoln\u2019s assassination. Gardner would later be given special access by the Secret Service to photograph the conspirators of the assassination and their execution that July.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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Anna Waser, Half length portrait of a Young Black Man<\/em>, 1704<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: National Gallery of Art, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund and Courtesy of Raccard 6, 2025.52.1\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\tMeasuring around 6 by 4 inches, this pen and ink drawing by Anna Waser, an 18th-century Swiss artist and court painter, is one of around only 25 drawings by that artist that survive today. Originally from Zurich, Waser first received painting lessons when she was 12 and ultimately moved to Bern to study in Joseph Werner\u2019s drawing school, where she was the only woman enrolled. In 1700, she would work as a court painter to Count Wilhelm Moritz of Solms-Braunfels, being the only Swiss woman to achieve that status in the Baroque era. Despite these achievements, she was never granted admission to any painter\u2019s guild or academy during her lifetime, according to art historian Mich\u00e8le Seehafer. This drawing, likely showing an enslaved man, was made in 1704, a decade before her death at 35 in 1714.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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Teresa del P\u00f2, Penitent Magdalene<\/em>, 1675<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy Porcini Gallery; National Gallery of Art, Joseph F. McCrindle Endowment Fund, 2025.51.1\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\tBorn in Rome in 1649, Teresa del P\u00f2 trained under her father, Italian Baroque painter Pietro del P\u00f2. She was one of the few women who was admitted to the Academy of Saint Luke in Rome, doing so in 1657. Del P\u00f2 would dedicate herself to printmaking and miniatures, very few of which survive today. The NGA acquired two works by del P\u00f2, both titled Penitent Magdalene<\/em> and dating to 1675. The above work, which measure around 7.5 by 6.3 inches, is the \u201cearliest documented example of a parchment miniature,\u201d according to a release. The other work is a slightly larger etching that is similar to del P\u00f2\u2019s gouache drawing, though the orientation of Mary Magdalene is flipped.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
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Ary de Vois, The Artist as Lover<\/em>, ca. 1660s<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: National Gallery of Art, Nell and Robert Weidenhammer Fund, \n2025.37.1\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\tThis oil on copper painting measures about 7 by 5 inches and depicts Ary de Vois, a painter associated with the 17th-century Leiden school. Scholars believe that this work would have likely accompanied a similarly seized one depicting the artist\u2019s wife. The National Gallery is well known for its collection of 17th-century Dutch paintings, many of which were donated by Andrew Mellon in 1937. The collection comprises more than 150 paintings, though only a few are self-portraits, like Rembrandt\u2019s 1659 one and a Judith Leyster canvas made around 1630. In a release, the National Gallery noted that \u201cVois\u2019s elegant works are marked by practically invisible brushwork, sharp attention to detail, and enamel-like finishes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/gardner.jpg?w=1024″] The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., announced today the acquisition of nearly 600 works to its permanent collection, spanning from the 17th century to today. This round of acquisitions, made during the second half of 2025, shows some of the museum\u2019s current priorities in terms of shoring up its holdings, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-1835708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1835708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835708\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1835708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1835708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1835708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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