Corcoran Gallery of Art

The museum's iconic building, completed in 1897, was designed by architect Ernest Flagg in the Beaux-Arts style. The structure featured a grand 170-by-50-foot atrium with forty limestone columns and twin skylights intended for sculpture display. A monumental grand staircase, 16 feet wide, led to the second floor, flanked by six statues on pedestals. The building also included a unique hemicycle auditorium at the northern end and the Salon Doré, a French room with intricate decorations from the early 1700s. The interior, including the atrium, rotunda, and grand staircase, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015, while the exterior had been listed in 1971.

The Corcoran's collection was renowned for its comprehensive scope of American art, spanning from the colonial era to the modern period. A significant portion of the holdings came from the bequest of Senator William A. Clark in 1926, which was particularly noted for its French and Dutch paintings as well as its decorative arts. The museum also held major works by American Impressionists and other key figures in American art history. At its peak, the collection included approximately 17,000 pieces, with significant works from the Corcoran, Clark, and Flagg donations forming the core of the display before the institution's dissolution.

The Corcoran played a pivotal role in American cultural life but was also the center of a major controversy in 1989. The museum agreed to host a traveling exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe's work but ultimately cancelled it due to concerns over funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the content of the photographs. This decision led to a boycott by over a dozen artists, a decline in funding and membership, and staff resignations. The controversy highlighted the tensions between artistic freedom, public funding, and conservative values in the late 20th century, significantly impacting the museum's reputation and financial stability.

In 2014, after decades of financial mismanagement and a lawsuit brought by the group Save the Corcoran, a federal judge ordered the dissolution of the museum. The court ruling mandated that the Corcoran's $2 billion, 17,000-piece art collection be transferred to the National Gallery of Art. The building and the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design were transferred to George Washington University, which now operates the school and uses the historic building for exhibitions and educational purposes. The school continues to offer degrees in art and design, carrying forward the educational legacy of the original institution.