# 3910g - 2005 37c Modern American Architecture: National Gallery of Art
37¢ National Gallery of Art
Modern American Architecture
City: Las Vegas, NV
Printing Method: Lithographed
Color: Multicolored
National Gallery Of Art Opens
Andrew Mellon made his fortune in oil, steel, shipbuilding, and construction, becoming one of the wealthiest people in America. During World War I, Mellon used his wealth to build a private art collection of old master paintings and sculptures. Appointed Secretary of the Treasury in 1921, he moved to Washington, D.C., and soon realized that America should have a national art museum like the ones in other great nations.
Mellon selected architect John Russell Pope to design the museum on the site of the former Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station in Washington, D.C. (Interestingly, this was the spot where Charles Guiteau shot President James Garfield in 1881). Mellon insisted that the gallery not bear his name, to encourage others to donate their art collections. And several did, both before it was completed and in the years since. Unfortunately, neither Mellon nor Pope would live to see the completed gallery, as both men died within a day of each other in August 1937, just two months after excavation began.
Several U.S. Christmas stamps feature art that hangs in the National Gallery. You can view them here.
37¢ National Gallery of Art
Modern American Architecture
City: Las Vegas, NV
Printing Method: Lithographed
Color: Multicolored
National Gallery Of Art Opens
Andrew Mellon made his fortune in oil, steel, shipbuilding, and construction, becoming one of the wealthiest people in America. During World War I, Mellon used his wealth to build a private art collection of old master paintings and sculptures. Appointed Secretary of the Treasury in 1921, he moved to Washington, D.C., and soon realized that America should have a national art museum like the ones in other great nations.
Mellon selected architect John Russell Pope to design the museum on the site of the former Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station in Washington, D.C. (Interestingly, this was the spot where Charles Guiteau shot President James Garfield in 1881). Mellon insisted that the gallery not bear his name, to encourage others to donate their art collections. And several did, both before it was completed and in the years since. Unfortunately, neither Mellon nor Pope would live to see the completed gallery, as both men died within a day of each other in August 1937, just two months after excavation began.
Several U.S. Christmas stamps feature art that hangs in the National Gallery. You can view them here.