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The Corcoran Museum of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art.
History
The Corcoran is the oldest art museum in DC. Founded in 1869 by William Wilson Corcoran, cofounder of Riggs Bank, it was one of the first fine art galleries in the country[1] (http://www.ability.org.uk/art.html). Since its founding it has been Washington, DC's largest non-Federal museum. Its mission is to be "dedicated to art and used solely for the purpose of encouraging the American genius."
The original building is 135,000 gross square feet, a Beaux-Arts building described by Frank Lloyd Wright as the "best designed building in Washington, DC." A new addition is planned that will add 140,000 gross square feet, including a 15,000 square foot Children's Center and a 4,000 square foot institutional library, archive and research center. The architect for the new wing is Frank O. Gehry. Construction is expected to begin sometime in 2006.
Today, the College and the Museum together have a staff of about 185 and an operating budget of about $20 million. Revenue comes from various sources, including grants and contributions, admissions fees, tuition, membership dues, gift shop and restaurant sales, and an endowment currently worth around $30 million. In February 2001, two AOL executives, Robert Pittman and Barry Schuler, and their wives donated $30 million, the largest single donation since the museum's founding.
College of Art and Design The affiliated Corcoran College of Art and Design, founded in 1890, is the only professional college of art and design in the city. It offers BFA degrees in several areas of Fine Arts, Design and Photography and AFA degrees in Fine Art, Interior Design, Digital Media Design, Graphic Design and Photography, as well as Master's Degrees in Interior Design and a BFA/MA in Teaching[2] (http://www.corcoran.edu/bfa/degrees_main.asp). As of 2001, about 350 fulltime students were enrolled in the BFA program. The College's Continuing Education Program, which offers partial- or non-credit classes to children and adults, draws more than 3,500 participants every year.
Visiting The museum is located at the intersection of New York Avenue and 17th Street in Northwest DC, one block away from the White House. Although closed on Tuesdays, it is open all other days from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and on Thursdays from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Admission is free on Mondays and after 5 on Thursdays.
The permanent collection includes works by Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Rembrandt, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Andy Warhol, and many others. There are always several exhibitions, which can be found on the museum's website (http://www.corcoran.org/exhibitions/index.htm).
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