Updates on Programs, Reflecting on our Mission
Dear friends,
I am sharing a series of updates on our work at the Kress Foundation and a few reflections on our mission.
First, I want to share my sincere gratitude to the entire Kress community for your support as we have navigated the recent and tragic loss of our President, Dr. Julia Alexander. Besides the notes and conversations sharing the personal connections so many of you had with Julia, it has been very inspiring professionally to hear of the relationships she had with museum leaders, curators, and fellows across the nation at various stages in their careers. Julia and I worked very closely together for many months, particularly on developing an updated strategic framework for the Foundation. While I continue to process what remains an incomprehensible loss, I am committed to carrying out the initiatives that we had been developing with the Kress board, many of which were informed by so many of you.
Upcoming changes. Over the past year, Julia and I conducted a series of listening sessions and outreach with the broader Kress community. We benefited greatly from this work, and I plan to continue this activity in the next months. From these conversations and our ongoing observations of the field, we are making a few operational adjustments to our grant making so that we may serve the Kress community more effectively. Perhaps most important, the level of giving and activity from the Kress Foundation will not be reduced, indeed it will increase modestly this fiscal year. What will change is the following:
- Our grant application windows for History of Art and Conservation will be reduced from three to two – as we eliminate the winter grant deadline. This change enables us to make larger and more competitive awards while reducing our administrative burden.
- We are integrating the Digital Art History grant program into the broader History of Art grant program. The Kress Foundation was an early pioneer in promoting the use of digital technologies beginning in 2008, funding over 200 grants to date. Given the near ubiquity we are now observing of digital elements in most proposals, we are making this change so that we can respond more nimbly to the needs of the field. We are extremely proud of our role in the widespread adoption of these methodologies of inquiry and practice, and remain focused on continuing this support.
- The Foundation maintains a deep commitment to supporting interpretive activities in art museums. We continue to explore new and innovative ways to support the development of museum professionals performing this important work. Moving forward, we will now fund interpretive educational and curatorial fellowships through the History of Art grant program.
Details of these changes can be found on the History of Art grants page.
Left: Samuel H. Kress donates more than 400 paintings and sculptures from the Kress Collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC for its opening on March 17, 1941. Pictured (from left): Samuel H. Kress, Paul Mellon, Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (speaking).
Right: The completed distribution of the Kress Collection honored at a ceremony at the National Gallery of Art, December 9, 1961. Pictured (from left): Rush H. Kress (seated), Franklin Murphy, President John F. Kennedy, John Walker.
Samuel H. Kress Foundation ArchiveOur founding legacy. I have been reflecting on the Foundation’s mission and the historical impact of our founding legacy in recent months, which is highlighted by: the traveling national exhibition of 50 paintings from Mr. Kress’s collection in the depths of the Great Depression; President Roosevelt’s presiding over the opening of the National Gallery of Art in 1941, which included Kress’s founding gift; and the completion of the remarkable “gift to the nation” in 1961 overseen by President Kennedy, culminating in the deeding of the Kress Collection to the National Gallery of Art and scores of regional and campus art museums throughout the country. From that moment on, the Foundation has been committed to supporting the professional development of art historians, conservators, curators, and educators through a series of fellowship programs, a number of which are still active today.
Notably, these pivotal moments that helped to shape the mission and work of the Foundation occurred at especially volatile and challenging moments in the history of our nation, including the Great Depression and the Second World War. The Foundation Board and leadership team remain committed to this mission of service to the nation, which has become more prescient in this moment. We are mindful of the challenges that our grantees and fellows face today and are keenly aware that our support to the field remains vital.
Left: Student giving a lecture about The Crucifixion by Paolo Schiavo at the Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia.
Right: Children from Willow Springs Elementary School learn about the style of the artist Giotto in front of the Peruzzi altarpiece at the North Carolina Museum of Art.
Georgia Museum of Art; North Carolina Museum of ArtThe Kress Collection and the people who care for and steward these objects remain central to our focus and enduring priorities at the Foundation. As a long-standing leader at Kress, I have had the great benefit of seeing the many manifestations of engagement with art that our work supports: rigorous scholarship, creative exhibitions, and joyful contemplation.
I regularly hear from young professionals that their Kress fellowships at research centers and within art museums were transformative to their careers. A fellow recently shared that she relished the opportunity to study objects closely in person alongside leading scholars, who later became mentors and lifelong colleagues.
Please know that, as always, we remain committed to supporting your work and our core mission at Kress.
I wish to thank the entire Kress Foundation Board, in particular our Chair Carmela Franklin and our Vice Chair Dan Weiss. Their support has been invaluable.
Sincerely,
Lisa
L. W. Schermerhorn
Interim President