2011 Annual Report - National Gallery of Art

estate as well as an important recent addition,
this focus exhibition explored some of
Paik’s most dynamic yet meditative work.
We were thrilled to be able to present our
first exhibition on the artist and grateful to
his estate for its generous loans.
Gabriel Metsu, 1629–1667 included fourteen
paintings never before seen in this
country. Metsu, one of the leading Dutch
painters of the seventeenth century, was a
gifted visual storyteller who infused his
narrative paintings with suspense, drama,
and emotion. We were pleased to present
the first retrospective on Metsu in the
United States and grateful to the lenders,
both public and private.
The astonishing dexterity and passion for
detail of American printmaker John Taylor
Arms was revealed in The Gothic Spirit of
John Taylor Arms. While some American
artists of the period advocated a gritty realism
and others explored the possibilities
offered by modernist abstraction, Arms
paid homage to the past. It was a delight to
present these works from our collection
paired with promised gifts and other works
on loan.
We were honored to be the first U.S.
museum to offer the once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to see the Pastrana Tapestries
together in The Invention of Glory: Afonso V
and the Pastrana Tapestries. Exquisite and
monumental, these tapestries depict one of
the events that would lead to the European
voyages of exploration across the Atlantic.
Andy Warhol continues to inform our
culture in limitless ways through a variety
of media. We were proud to offer Warhol:
Headlines, a scholarly, visually compelling
exhibition and catalogue of one of the
world’s most famous and influential artists,
providing new information and insights to
all visitors, from Warhol specialists to the
general public.
In addition to presenting these spectacular
exhibitions complete with related films,
publications, concerts, lectures, and family
programs, the Gallery constantly works to
make its collections accessible to the public.
Two audio tours were produced and offered
free of charge for the first time in the
Gallery’s history. The Director’s Tour for
adults features insights into the collections
recorded in a variety of languages. The
Children’s Audio Tour highlights fifty
paintings in the West Building. These
audio tours allow visitors to enjoy the
Gallery at their own pace, select works of
interest as they go, and decide the length of
time they spend with each object.
We were excited to welcome our new
curator and head of the department of old
master prints, Jonathan Bober. He brings
to the Gallery a tradition of scholarship—
demonstrated in numerous exhibitions
and publications, especially on old master
and modern prints and drawings—
as well as a history of imaginative and
prodigious acquisitions.
Informative tours, varied exhibitions, and
significant acquisitions all enable us
to realize our mission of serving a growing
public. More than 4.6 million people
visited the Gallery this year. Another
15.6 million people experienced the Gallery
through website offerings. I join with Board
President Victoria Sant in thanking the
entire staff who, enabled by federal, individual,
corporate, and volunteer support,
work tirelessly to make the National Gallery
of Art a fulfillment of Mr. Mellon’s dream
of an art gallery for the nation.
Earl A. Powell III
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