Annual Report 2025
All artwork included in the Annual Report 2025 depicts Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a fourth-century martyr who, according to legend, was a highly educated young woman of noble birth. She is most often identified by a palm branch, symbolizing her martyrdom, or a spiked wheel, the torture device that miraculously burst into flames prior to her execution, as seen in the image below.
Saint Catherine is patron saint of philosophers and scholars, and is considered a powerful intercessor for prayer.
The Kress Collection includes numerous portrayals of Saint Catherine, and this year’s report features paintings from the following Kress Collection museums: El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, TX; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA.
Cover image: Attributed to Bernardo Daddi (Italian, active by 1320, died probably 1348), A Crowned Virgin Martyr (St. Catherine of Alexandria), c. 1334–38, tempera and gold leaf on panel. Samuel H. Kress Collection, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA