Formed in the turbulent decades surrounding World War II, the Kress Collection acquired many of the great masterpieces of European art then on the market. Preference was given to Italian paintings, but the collection also contains fine examples from other schools that flourished between the 13th and 19th centuries. At its completion, the Kress Collection encompassed 1,424 paintings, 171 sculptures, 31 drawings and 1,307 small bronzes (plaquettes, medals, statuettes, and utensils), plus three separate special collections, an extensive selection of period frames, and several dozen miscellaneous objects.

In an act that will forever remain without peer, this vast collection - over 3,000 works of art - was donated to the people of the United States, not to a single museum or city, but to more than 90 institutions in 33 states. Some indication of its distinction is reflected in its valuation. Four decades ago, at the time of its distribution, the Kress Collection was judged to be worth well in excess of $100 million.

The largest gift was conferred upon the National Gallery of Art, where Samuel Kress is honored as a Founding Benefactor and Kress masterpieces (376 paintings, 92 sculptures, 34 drawings, watercolors and gouaches, and 1,307 small bronzes) permanently adorn the European galleries. Distinguished special Kress donations also enrich the Metropolitan Museum of Art (18th-century French decorative arts, and the Gobelins Tapestry Room by Robert Adam from Croome Court), the Pierpont Morgan Library (illuminated German manuscripts and a volume of drawings by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta), and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (a set of 13 tapestries on designs by Rubens and Pietro da Cortona from the Barberini Palace in Rome).

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