National Gallery of Art, East Building, Washington, DC - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

In 2005, the United States Postal Service issued a set of twelve stamps honoring modern architecture in America. Washington DC’s National Gallery of Art, East Building was one of twelve buildings (and one of three art galleries) chosen for the stamp release.

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC came about largely through the efforts and donations of Andrew W. Mellon, wealthy financier and Secretary of the Treasury from 1921-32. Mellon donated his substantial art collection and set up an endowment for future acquisitions. He also funded the construction of a building to house the National Gallery on the mall in Washington. Prominent American architect John Russell Pope was commissioned to design the new building. The resulting neo-classical edifice which is now known as the West Building was dedicated in 1941.

Neither Andrew W. Mellon nor John Russell Pope lived to see the opening of the National Gallery. And in spite of the fact that the new building was more than large enough to hold the gallery’s relatively meager collection at that time, Mellon had the foresight to reserve some adjacent property for a second building to accommodate future expansion. That time came in the late 1960s and I doubt that either Mellon or Pope could have imagined what that structure was going to look like.

I. M. Pei received the commission for the East Building and based his design on the trapezoidal shape of the piece of property allotted. Pink marble from the same Tennessee quarry that was used for the original building was used for the new building but that’s where the similarity ends. The building is laid out in the form of two large triangles and the triangle motif is repeated often within and without. The building contains a large triangular atrium and is connected to the West Building via an underground concourse. The stamp shows the famous 19-degree corner sometimes called the knife edge. The East Building was dedicated on June 1, 1978. Andrew W. Mellon’s son Paul Mellon and President Jimmy Carter were both in attendance.

Scores of paintings from the collections of the National Gallery have appeared on postage stamps over the years but most of these are displayed in the West Building or are in storage. However, there are two works which have appeared on stamps that are sometimes displayed in the East Building: “Rearing Stallion” by Alexander Calder and “Achilles” by Barnett Newman.

Stamp Issuing Country: United States Date of Issue: 19-May-2005 Denomination: 37 cents Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: Not listed

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