Master Paintings from the Hermitage and the State Russian Museum, Leningrad

July 30-September 9, 1975

Overview: 30 old master paintings from the Hermitage and 13 18th- and 19th-century works from the State Russian Museum were on view. This was the first exhibition in the United States to include old master paintings on loan from the USSR. Negotiations between the Soviet ministry of culture and Dr. Armand Hammer resulted in the agreement to exhibit the paintings at the National Gallery and 4 other locations in the United States, in exchange for the loan of 5 paintings from the Gallery, 25 works from the other participating institutions and from the personal collection of Dr. Hammer, and 10 western paintings from the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming. The exhibition was one of the officially designated American Revolution Bicentennial administration events involving foreign governments. A 32-foot photomural of Leningrad and the two palaces marked the entrance to the show, which featured Rembrandt's Saskia as Flora and Caravaggio's Lute Player. J. Carter Brown, director, selected the works, John Hand was the coordinating curator, and Gaillard Ravenel the designer.

Attendance: 310,678 (42 days)

Location: Main Floor, Galleries 60, 67 through 71, Lobbies C, D (15,000 sq. ft.)

Catalogue: Master Paintings from the Hermitage and the State Russian Museum, Leningrad, edited by John Richardson and Eric Zafran. New York: M. Knoedler and Co., Inc., 1975.

Brochure: Master Paintings from the Hermitage and the State Russian Museum, Leningrad: A Brief Guide to the Exhibition. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1975.

Other venues:

Knoedler and Co., Inc., New York

Detroit Institute of Arts

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

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