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The Kress Foundation devotes its resources to advancing the study, preservation, and enjoyment of European art, architecture, and archaeology from antiquity to the early 19th century.

Kress offers a range of grants and fellowships in defined program areas for historians of art and architecture, art conservators, art museum curators and educators, and art librarians.

The Kress Collection encompasses more than 3,000 works of European art, and is distinguished for its abundance of Italian Renaissance paintings.

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Frequently Asked Questions

To whom can the Kress Foundation award its grants?

The Foundation can only award grants to American organizations that are registered as non-profits with the Internal Revenue Service.

International applicants must identify a U.S. non-profit as the fiscal sponsor for their proposal prior to beginning the application process. Applicants must provide a copy of the fiscal sponsor organization’s IRS Determination Letter, to confirm its 501(c) 3 status, as well as a letter from the fiscal sponsor confiming they have independently vetted the project, approved it as appropriate to their mision and are willing to accept and administer full or partial funding, if awarded, without taking overhead or indirect expenses.

The Foundation does not award grants directly to individuals.

Can my university/organization submit multiple applications for different projects simultaneously?

Yes. The Kress Foundation does not limit the number of applications that organizations may submit at any given time. Neither does the Foundation place a limit upon the number of grants that may be awarded to a single institution simultaneously.

When will I hear of the Foundation’s decision regarding my grant request?

After the submission of an LOI, organizations invited to apply for a grant from the Kress Foundation will be notified via email within 7 business days of the LOI deadline (December 15, March 1, or September 1).

After the submission of a grant application, proposals are reviewed and applicants are typically informed of the Foundation's decision within four to six weeks of the grant deadline (January 15, April 1, or October 1). 

Can an individual apply for a fellowship?

There are different application requirements for each fellowship.

History of Art Institutional Fellowships candidates must be nominated by their academic department and may then apply for the fellowship as individuals.

Conservation Fellowship applications must be submitted by the museum or conservation research facility that will host the fellowship.

Interpretive Fellowships at Art Museums applications must be submitted by the museum that will host the fellowship.

How do I obtain a reproduction of, or the rights to reproduce, a work in the Kress Collection?

The Kress Foundation has implemented an open access policy for the digital images of works in the Kress Collection it believes to be in the public domain. Images of these works are available for download on our site, free of charge for any use, commercial or non-commercial. While in accordance with our understanding of US copyright law users do not need to contact the Foundation or the institutional repository where the public domain art object in question is held for permission to use these images, both the Foundation and the museums that collectively steward the Kress Collection welcome inquiries about the individual works of art in the Kress Collection.

Featured Slideshow Artworks

  1. Bernardino Luini, Madonna of the Carnation, c. 1515
  2. Giorgione, The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1505/1510
  3. Paris Bordon, Perseus Armed by Mercury and Minerva, c.1545-1555