National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art is the New World counterpart of legendary European galleries including the Louvre, Prado, Tate, and the Uffizi.
The Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation supports the National Gallery in its ongoing mission of displaying the world’s greatest paintings, sculptures and other artworks for the enjoyment of visitors to and residents of our nation’s capital.
In 2004, the Foundation sponsored a magnificent exhibit titled The Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. The exhibit displayed extraordinary works of Mayan art from Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala as well as masterpieces from museums around the world. The Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya was heralded as the defining exhibition on the Mayan civilization.
In March 2005, the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation sponsored Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre, which opened to great acclaim and near record Gallery crowds. In February 2006, the Foundation sponsored an exhibition on Dada, one of the key avant-garde movements of the 20th century. The foundation-sponsored presentation of Dada was selected by the Washington Post as the best art exhibition of the last decade.
In 2003, the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation sponsored the first major exhibition ever of the works of the renowned French artist, Jean-Antoine Houdon, recognized as the greatest sculptor of the 18th century. Houdon sculpted the leading intellectual and political figures of the day, including Voltaire and Napoleon, and American statesmen such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin.
The Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation also provided funding for the National Gallery’s extraordinary exhibit entitled, Goya: Images of Women. This major exhibition featured approximately 110 paintings and prints by the Spanish master. Many of the works are among Goya’s most famous and some of which are rarely-lent or seen. His beautiful fantasy painting of La Maja is perhaps the most recognized female in the world.
In October 2001, the Foundation brought an exhibit celebrating the life, genius and works of noted British sculptor Henry Moore to the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art. This exhibition won universal praise for its success in conveying the astonishing range of Moore’s achievement, which extends far beyond the fluid and thought-provoking sculptures for which he is best known.
In 2000, The Architecture of the Baroque dazzled Gallery visitors with its exquisitely detailed models, paintings and sketches of some of the most breathtakingly beautiful palaces and churches ever built. Similarly, in 1999, Caravaggio’s long-lost masterwork, The Taking of Christ, was the centerpiece of a Foundation-sponsored exhibit of highly regarded Renaissance paintings on religious subjects.
As always, the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation is proud to be able to play a part in bringing the world’s greatest artistic masterworks to the National Gallery of Art.