The largest privately supported Cultural Institution in Washington D.C, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, mainly focuses on American Art. The collection of; Eugene Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Paul Manship, Ian Hornak, Claude Monet, Chryssa Mavormichali, Rebmbrandt, Pablo Picasso, Pierre Renoir, Andy Warhol and many others belong to their permanent collection. The mission of the Corcoran Gallery if Art is to be “dedicated to art and used solely for the purpose of encouraging the American mind”. In 1869 when the gallery was first founded by William Wilson Corcoran, and the co-founder Riggs Bank, it was one of the first fine art galleries in the country. Construction began before the Civil war. It was originally located at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. This building now houses the Renwick Gallery. When it was near completion it was used by the government as a warehouse during the Civil War.

In the year 1874 the Gallery was finally completed and opened to the public. In 1897 a new building was constructed and designed by Ernest Flagg, the original building had outgrew all the space available. Due to funding problems a proposed addition by Frank Gehry was scrapped, the addition would have more then doubled the museum’s size.

The museum currently holds about 185 staff members, and an operating budge of about twenty million dollars. The revenue comes from various sources, such as grants, contributions, admission fees, tuition, membership dues, gift shop, and restaurant sales. In February of 2001 two AOL Executives donated thirty million dollars to the museum. It is the largest donation since its founding.

At the present day site, a second section of the building, known as the “Clark Wing,” was built to house the collection of Montana Senator William Andrews Clark and financed by a grant from the Clark family. The Clark Wing was designed by Charles Adams Platt, who also designed the Freer Gallery of Art. A small section at the west end of the new wing was built at the same time at the Gallery’s expense. The Clark Wing was inaugurated in 1928 with President Coolidge in attendance.

The permanent collection of the Gallery consists of well over 14,000 items, most of which are American. Its collections of European holdings are based primarily on the Clark collection mentioned above, and the Walker collection, from collectors Mary and Edward Walker. The Gallery houses the Corcoran School of Art, the only professional art school in the District of Columbia, as well as varied educational programs open to the public. Not only is the Corcoran an architectural achievement in the Beaux Arts tradition, but its continual dedication to art is a contribution to the cultural heritage of the nation’s capital.