THE SAMUEL H. KRESS FOUNDATION

THE PRESERVATION OF EUROPEAN MONUMENTS

The benefactions of Samuel Kress extended beyond the endowment of individual works of art to the preservation of great art in situ. Indeed, his first major grant, in 1929, was for the restoration of monuments in Italy, and he continued to sponsor work at the Ducal Palace in Mantua, and elsewhere in Europe, throughout the 1930s. Over its long history, the Kress Foundation has maintained programs in architectural preservation as an integral aspect of its focus on European cultural heritage.

Over the past seven decades, projects to protect and preserve significant monuments of European art have ranged from an imperial Roman gateway at Aphrodisias to an imperial French theatre at Compiègne. The Foundation has offered funding for Egyptian temples; Byzantine buildings in Athens, Jerusalem, and Istanbul; a Moorish fountain pavilion; a medieval donjon in Périgord; Spanish Romanesque and German Gothic churches; Renaissance buildings in the Czech Republic, France, Italy, and Portugal; the Ochavo in Toledo Cathedral; the dome of the Invalides in Paris; the bridge of Santa Trinità in Florence and the church of the Pietà in Venice; Georgian houses in Ireland; the Czar’s summer palace in St. Petersburg and Marie Antoinette’s private apartment at Versailles (to which the Foundation also donated two Louis XVI cabinets). To these representative field projects should be added such related activities as the creation of a conservation laboratory in Venice, surveys of Bosnian war damage, and planning for the future uses of great estates in eastern Europe.

Kress funding has aided cultural sites in all parts of Europe. Since 1987, support has been offered through the Kress Foundation European Preservation Program, administered by the World Monuments Fund. These competitive grants serve to challenge European governments and private sector organizations, stimulating local leadership and increasing international attention. The Foundation also sponsors programs in basic research, new technology, training, publications, and preservation advocacy. The program is an endorsement of the belief that this heritage is both the common property and shared responsibility of all mankind. More information on this program can be found in the section "The Care and Presentation of European Art" in the Grants area of this site, or by visiting the World Monuments Fund site at www.wmf.org (also provided in the Links area of this site).

 

 

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