Dedicated to Art

Dedicated to Art: The Story of the Corcoran Gallery of Artis the first complete biography of one of the country’s oldest and most venerable art institutions told through the lives of its people. The story begins with the founder William Wilson Corcoran (1798-1888), the middle son of Irish immigrants who made his fortune in finance and banking and amassed a notable fine art collection for which he built a museum modeled on the Louvre and bequeathed the art and building to the nation. Throughout its long history the Gallery encountered obstacles and challenges which it always managed to overcome, and that is where the heart of the story lies—in the resilience, adaptation, and ingenuity of the dedicated staff, artists, and faculty who believed in art and the public mission of the Gallery and who fought until the end to save the Corcoran. Of course, there would be no museum without the trustees who worked diligently to balance the books and to protect the art. The records of their meetings offer tantalizing glimpses behind the scenes of the daily business of the museum as well as high points of drama. This book is a serious examination of the great social experiment in arts patronage that was the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Through periods of peace and prosperity as well as demonstrations and protests, the Corcoran was there, serving as a lightning rod for cultural wars and a beacon of hope for local and regional artists.