{"id":556046,"date":"2026-04-22T19:23:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T19:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/?p=556046"},"modified":"2026-04-22T19:23:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T19:23:30","slug":"national-gallery-of-art-receives-116-million-endowment-to-fund-lending-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/?p=556046","title":{"rendered":"National Gallery of Art Receives $116 Million Endowment to Fund Lending Program"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The National Gallery of Art (NGA) is set to continue its transformative artwork lending program, <em>Across the Nation<\/em>, thanks to a record $116 million donation from the foundation of Mitchell Rales, a biotech billionaire and co-founder of the Glenstone museum. Initially launched as a pilot project last spring, the program has already reached an estimated 900,000 visitors by bringing iconic works of art to smaller regional museums across the United States, with the aim of increasing accessibility to masterworks.<\/p>\n<p>During its pilot year, the initiative showcased Georgia O&#8217;Keeffe&#8217;s art in Anchorage, Rembrandt&#8217;s pieces in Denver, Mark Rothko&#8217;s work in Boise, Botticelli in Flint, and Henri Matisse in northern Washington. The funding not only supports the transportation and installation expenses but also ensures the program&#8217;s sustainability long-term.<\/p>\n<p>This remarkable donation stands as the largest the NGA has received to date for endowing a program, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence&#8217;s signing. The initiative predates and runs counter to any political narratives that sought to promote \u201cAmerican exceptionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The NGA, akin to the Smithsonian, relies on a mix of private and public funding. Both institutions were affected by a 2025 mandate against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in government operations following the previous administration&#8217;s directives. Despite these challenges, the NGA successfully rolled out <em>Across the Nation<\/em> in April, promising unprecedented access to its collection for regional audiences.<\/p>\n<p>Mitchell Rales, a long-serving trustee of the NGA, emphasizes the impact of endowments in empowering nonprofits to achieve their missions. Together with his brother, he founded Danaher Corporation, a leading biotech firm. Rales also founded Glenstone Museum, enriching the cultural landscape with contemporary art.<\/p>\n<p>The NGA&#8217;s Director, Kaywin Feldman, acknowledges Rales&#8217; substantial contribution as pivotal to establishing <em>Across the Nation<\/em> as a fundamental aspect of the institution&#8217;s mission, reaffirming the Gallery\u2019s commitment to serving the nation and its people by making art accessible to all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The National Gallery of Art (NGA) is set to continue its transformative artwork lending program, Across the Nation, thanks to a record $116 million donation from the foundation of Mitchell Rales, a biotech billionaire and co-founder of the Glenstone museum. Initially launched as a pilot project last spring, the program has already reached an estimated 900,000 visitors by bringing iconic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-556046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=556046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/556047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=556046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=556046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=556046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}