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THE SAMUEL H. KRESS FOUNDATION PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE
IN In 1961, the gift of the Kress Collection to communities across America provided a new impetus for serious interest in European art. As a means of sustaining the great Kress donation, the Kress Foundation developed programs to foster the human, scholarly, and scientific resources essential to the care and enjoyment of great art and architecture. Focusing on the practice of art history and conservation, Kress grants have since supported the training of individuals and the basic elements required for professional expertise in the field – art historical libraries, slide collections, photographic archives, publications, databases, catalogues, technical studies, archaeological investigations, international exchanges, conferences, consultations, and other related activities. Forty years ago, the Kress Foundation’s programming inaugurated a notable expansion of the academic discipline of the history of art in the United States. Promising young scholars and curators were awarded Kress Fellowships to study art abroad, and returned to make their careers in universities and museums that had likewise benefited from an expansion of resources sponsored by the Kress Foundation. One direct and positive result was a dramatic increase of doctoral programs in the history of art, from 19 in 1960 to almost 60 today. Many of the art historians who guide these programs are former Kress Fellows, who now number more than 3,000. A similar approach to the care of art and architecture, begun in the 1980s, has offered Kress Fellowships to almost 1,000 art conservators and preservationists to improve their skills through specialized training, sustained by the Foundation’s support for conservation facilities and scientific research. Kress Fellowships and the professional activities of art historians, conservators, and preservationists are integral to the Foundation’s programming as the continuation of Samuel Kress’s commitment to European art and architecture. Today, the dedication and expertise of 4,000 former Kress Fellows is apparent in every corner of the world of art. For further information, please refer to the Fellowships area of this site.
THE ART OF EUROPE IN CONTEXT All of the streams of Kress Foundation programming unite in ‘The Art of Europe in Context.’ The overall program brings together the Foundation’s historic involvement with works of European art in American museums (especially the Kress Collection), the conservation of European architectural heritage, and the expansion of knowledge facilitated by the research of scholars and conservators. A new program area, ‘Old Masters in Context’, seeks to combine these concerns for greater understanding and enjoyment of European art. Now in its eighth decade, the activities of the Kress Foundation have enhanced the ways that works of art from the great European traditions have been understood and cherished in the United States and abroad. Complementing the priceless donation of art, the Foundation has granted $100 million to art-related programs and projects, a sum that is further distinguished by the quality of the accomplishments supported. The record reflects the Trustees’ resolve to encourage excellence in the areas of human endeavor that were of fervent interest to the donor, whose legacy - increasingly, and often incalculably - enriches each succeeding generation. More information on these programs can be found in the Grants area of this site.
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