Published 14/12/2017
Enjoy the rich and varied collection from the North Carolina Museum of Art
We are delighted to announce that we now represent works from the North Carolina Museum of Art.
Since its initial acquisition in 1947 of 139 works of European and American art, the collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art has grown to include major holdings in European painting from the Renaissance to the 19th century, Egyptian funerary art, sculpture and vase painting from ancient Greece and Rome. It also includes wonderful African, ancient American, and Oceanic art, and Jewish ceremonial objects.
In 1947 the state legislature allocated $1 million to purchase a collection of art for the people of North Carolina. The appropriation, was in response to a then anonymous challenge grant from noted philanthropist Samuel H. Kress of New York through the persuasive efforts of Robert Lee Humber. Humber was an international lawyer and native of Greenville, N.C.
The initial $1 million legislative allocation was used to purchase 139 European and American paintings and sculptures.
The Kress Foundation matched the $1 million appropriation with a gift of 70 works of art, primarily Italian Renaissance, adding the Museum to its programme of endowing regional museums throughout the United States with works from the Kress Collection. The Kress gift to the Museum became the largest and most important of any except that given to the National Gallery of Art. The Museum’s original collection, along with the Kress gift, established the North Carolina Museum of Art as one of the premier art museums.
Need assistance?
If you are working on a project and need help sourcing a specific image, email us at uksales@bridgemanimages.com.
View all images in the North Carolina Museum of Art collection in the Bridgeman archive
Visit the North Carolina Museum of Art website
