Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"The Corcoran Gallery of Art is one of the oldest privately supported cultural institutions in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt Peale, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Edward Hopper, Willem de Kooning, Joan Mitchell, Gene Davis, and many others. Founded in 1869 by William Wilson Corcoran, the Corcoran was the oldest and largest non-federal art museum in the District of Columbia. Its mission is "dedicated to art and used solely for the purpose of encouraging the American genius."
History
When the gallery was founded in 1869 by William Wilson Corcoran, the co-founder of Riggs Bank, it was one of the first fine art galleries in the country. Corcoran established the gallery, supported with an endowment, "for the perpetual establishment and encouragement of the Fine Arts."
The Corcoran Gallery of Art was originally located at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, in the building that now houses the Renwick Gallery. Construction of that building started before the Civil War. The building, near completion, was used by the government as a warehouse during the Civil War. It was finally completed in 1874 and the gallery opened to the public.
By 1897, the Corcoran Gallery collection outgrew the space of its original building. A new building was constructed, designed by Ernest Flagg in a Beaux-Arts style. The building spans 135,000 square feet (12,500 m²). A proposed addition by Frank O. Gehry would have more than doubled the museum's size, but the plan was scrapped due to funding problems in the summer of 2005.
The museum and its affiliated art and design college Corcoran College of Art and Design together have a staff of about 140 and an operating budget of about $24 million. Revenue comes from various sources, including grants and contributions, admissions fees, tuition, membership dues, gift shop and restaurant sales, and an endowment currently worth around $30 million. In February 2001, two AOL executives (Robert W. Pittman and Barry Schuler) and their wives donated $30 million to the museum, its largest single donation since its founding.
Following decades of financial problems, the Corcoran announced in 2014 that it would sign a historic agreement with the National Gallery of Art which would obtain its collection and George Washington University would manage the operations of the College. The colloboration and transition is being led and managed by museologist and Corcoran Interim Director and President, Peggy Loar."