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Old Master Paintings from the Collection of Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza

November 18, 1979 – February 17, 1980
East Building, Upper Level and Mezzanine, Northeast, Pod I (6,000 sq. ft.)

Installation view of Old Master Paintings from the Collection of Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gallery Archives

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: The 57 paintings on view included works by Jan van Eyck, Vittore Carpaccio, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt van Rijn, and other European old masters.

Organization: The works were selected by John Walker, director emeritus of the National Gallery, and Allen Rosenbaum of Princeton for the International Exhibitions Foundation, which organized the exhibition for a 2-year, 9-city tour. Gaillard Ravenel and Mark Leithauser designed the exhibition and Gordon Anson designed the lighting for the National Gallery.

Sponsor: The exhibition was supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a grant from United Technologies Corporation, and by grants from the government of the Canton of Ticino and the Tourist Office of Ticino. A special grant in support of the catalogue was made by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Attendance: 236,127

Catalog: Old Master Paintings from the Collection of Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza, by Allen Rosenbaum. Introduction by John Walker. Washington, DC: International Exhibitions Foundation, 1979.

Brochure: Old Master Paintings from the Collection of Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1979.

Other Venues: Detroit Institute of Arts, March 8–May 11, 1980
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, May 29–August 3, 1980
Cleveland Museum of Art, September 2–October 26, 1980
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, November 15, 1980–January 18, 1981
Denver Art Museum, February 7–April 5, 1981
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, April 25–June 28, 1981
William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, July 18–September 20, 1981
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, October 9–December 6, 1981