Closure of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in DC

S

stellarfun

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
Messages
5,690
Reaction score
1,506
Wow. I had no idea the Corcoran was going under...thanks for posting. It would be nice to think the MFA might get some of the goodies, but I wonder how likely that is. I've only been the Corcoran twice in the last 30 years (when you're in DC why pay to see art when you're surrounded by great museums for free?) so it's not entirely surprising. For this same reason I wonder about the viability of the Phillips Collection as well...now there's something I wish the MFA would snag :D.
 
Tombstoner said:
Wow. I had no idea the Corcoran was going under...thanks for posting. It would be nice to think the MFA might get some of the goodies, but I wonder how likely that is. I've only been the Corcoran twice in the last 30 years (when you're in DC why pay to see art when you're surrounded by great museums for free?) so it's not entirely surprising. For this same reason I wonder about the viability of the Phillips Collection as well...now there's something I wish the MFA would snag :D.
Click to expand...

The Phillips recently undertook a very modest expansion, and has nowhere the capital (facility) needs of the Corcoran.

Of the 17,000 items in the Corcoran collection, there are about 500 paintings by American artists before 1945. From articles, it seems the NGA will keep the contemporary and modern art, and continue exhibiting that at the Corcoran. A small collection of art, perhaps large size American landscapes (e.g., Cole, Church, Bierstadt)???? would continue to be exhibited at the Corcoran. I would expect the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery to have first dibs on the portraits.

The remainder (paintings and sculptures) gets to be interesting. I think there's a sense that what gets dispersed would go to museums that will exhibit the pieces, not store them away in vaults. Thus I think one starts looking at museums that have the gallery space to exhibit new accessions, especially larger canvases, and where a particular painting or sculpture fills a void in a collection, or helps build to the strength of a collection. So a Fitzhenry Lane might wind up in Massachusetts, and not in Minneapolis.

As for the European collection,
The collection is particularly well-regarded for its 17th-century Dutch landscape and genre paintings, 18th- through early 19th-century British paintings, and 19th-century French paintings, including significant holdings of Realist, Barbizon, and Impressionist landscapes. Included are works by Jean-Baptise-Camille Corot, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Eugène Delacroix, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds, Gerard ter Borch, and Aelbert Cuyp.
Click to expand...
the Smithsonian art museums are out, the Phillips might try for a few, and the remainder, by my guess, is up for grabs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top