THE SAMUEL H. KRESS FOUNDATION

OVERVIEW

Since its creation in 1929, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation has devoted its resources almost exclusively to programs related to European art. In consequence, the Foundation’s activities have been of fundamental importance – and have established a record of philanthropy without equal – in three primary and related areas: the collection and distribution of works of European art to American museums, the preservation of significant monuments of European art and architecture, and the nurturing of professional expertise in art history and art conservation.

The Kress Foundation was endowed through the generosity of Samuel H. Kress (1863-1955) and his brothers Claude W. Kress (1876-1940) and Rush H. Kress (1877-1963).

THE FOUNDER

Biographical references to Samuel Henry Kress (1863-1955) typically divide his life into three distinct phases: the hard-won struggles of his youth in rural Pennsylvania, the brilliance of his mercantile success with the S.H. Kress & Co. variety stores, and the extraordinary philanthropy associated with his incomparable collection of Italian art. Once common knowledge, the Kress story epitomized American opportunity and the virtues of stern discipline, vigorous hard work, and patriotic generosity.

A lifelong bachelor, Samuel Kress had already passed his 65th birthday when he established the Foundation that bears his name. With the same dedication that marked the creation of his commercial empire, he had lately commenced a major collection of Italian Renaissance art that the Foundation was to continue. Between 1929 and 1961, Samuel Kress and the Kress Foundation (with the participation of his brothers Claude and Rush) assembled and distributed across the United States this century’s foremost collection of Old Master paintings and other European works of art.