Samuel H. Kress Collection

As the Kress Collection is not housed in a single building but is dispersed across the United States, its 'architecture' is defined by the diverse institutional settings that now house these works. The collection has been integrated into the galleries of 90 different venues, ranging from major encyclopedic museums to small college galleries. A significant architectural presence of the collection is found at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where the largest concentration of Kress gifts is displayed. Specific works, such as Gerard David's 'The Virgin and Child,' are housed in the West Building Main Floor, Gallery M41, demonstrating how the collection has been physically embedded into the gallery architecture of the nation's premier art museum.

The collection is celebrated for its depth in Italian Renaissance art, but it also includes significant works from the Northern Renaissance and other periods. A notable example held by the National Gallery of Art is 'The Virgin and Child' by the Netherlandish painter Gerard David (c. 1460–1523). This work, acquired by the foundation and gifted to the gallery, depicts the Flight into Egypt with a calm equilibrium, utilizing symbolic colors like the Madonna's red and blue robes and a chestnut tree replacing the traditional date palm. The collection also includes works with complex provenance, such as pieces previously owned by Rodolphe Kann and J. Pierpont Morgan, before being acquired by the foundation and distributed to public institutions.

The significance of the Kress Collection lies in its transformative impact on American museum culture, bringing high-quality European art to regional communities that previously lacked such holdings. The foundation's strategy of dispersal ensured that art education and cultural enrichment were accessible nationwide. Beyond the physical objects, the foundation has facilitated the creation of the 'Kress Collection of Historic Images' at the National Gallery of Art, a digitized archive of over 18,300 scans. This resource documents works in various states of conservation, including x-ray and infrared images, providing invaluable data for art historians, conservators, and students to study attribution, restoration history, and the 'life' of these artworks over time.

The legacy of the collection extends into the realm of research and conservation through the extensive documentation maintained by the National Gallery of Art. The digitized Kress Collection of Historic Images allows scholars to examine works that may have since been altered, damaged, or sold. These images include high-resolution details, x-rays, and infrared scans, as well as historical comments written by scholars on the backs of photographs. This archive, made possible by grants from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, serves as a critical tool for understanding the technical history of the works and supports the foundation's ongoing mission to advance the history and conservation of European art heritage.