WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 23, 2005—Earl A. Powell III, director of the National Gallery of Art (NGA), announced that more than 400 new acquisitions were recently approved by the Gallerys board of trustees.

The breadth and depth of the Gallerys collections, and the strength of its scholarship, are reflected in this diverse range of acquisitions, including one of the earliest engravings made in western Europe, an exquisite marble by Giovanni Francesco Susini; Russian Constructivist works; a recent landscape by Stephen Hannock; distinctive color panels by Ellsworth Kellynow a key feature in the East Building atrium; significant sculptures by Carl Andre, Claes Oldenburg, and Robert Morris; and impressive groups of works by Vija Celmins, John Marin, Jaromir Funke, and Philip Guston, said Powell.

Modern and Contemporary Art
Los Angeles real estate developer Edward R. Broida gave the Gallery 62 modern and contemporary paintings, sculptures and works on paper by 23 important artists with in-depth groups by Vija Celmins (b. 1938), including Eraser (1967), an early trompe loeil sculpture, and the NGAs first paintings by herTulip Car #1 (1966), Rhinoceros (1965), and Untitled (Comet) (1988), as well as major drawings from 1967 and 1975; and by Philip Guston (1913-1980), including the paintings Rug (1976), a powerful and haunting image that is executed in his late realist style, and Midnight Pass Road (1975), and an extraordinary group of eight drawings from Gustons crucial decades of 1952-1975.

Broidas gift also includes 64 Steel Square (1967) by Carl Andre (b. 1935), the NGAs first significant floor piece from the artists classic early period; Standing Mitt with Ball, Half-Scale, 6 Feet (1974) by Claes Oldenburg (b.1929), a sculpture last seen at the Gallery in the artists 1995 retrospective; Boober (1965) by Mark di Suvero (b.1933), an early piece in welded steel; Untitled (Quarter-Round Mesh) (1966), an important minimalist work by Robert Morris (b.1931); Head within Head (1978) by Susan Rothenberg (b. 1945), which postdates the NGAs Butterfly, a more familiar painting from this artists series of horse images; Them and Us (1969), a large early painting by Neil Jenney (b.1945); and the NGAs first works by Wolfgang Laib (b.1950); as well as important abstract expressionist drawings by Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) and Franz Kline (1910-1962).

Other artists represented in the Broida gift include Pierre Alechinsky (b.1927), Richard Artschwager (b.1923), Jake Berthot (b.1939), Jonathan Borofsky (b.1942), Dorothy Dehner (1901-1994), Jacob El Hanani (b.1947), Klaus Fussmann (b.1938), Franz Kline (1910-1962), David Nash (b.1945), Joel Shapiro (b.1941), and Christopher Mallory Wilmarth (1943-1987).

The National Gallery of Art will present a special exhibition of works from the Broida collection, dates to be announced.

The spectacular Color Panels for a Large Wall (1978), which went on view in the National Gallery of Arts East Building in 2003 as a loan from the artist Ellsworth Kelly (b.1923) was purchased by the NGA with funds from The Glenstone Foundation, founded by Mitchell P. Rales, a Washington-based financier. The painting consists of 18 rectangular monochrome canvaseseach measuring 48 x 68 ½ inches (191.9 x 174 cm)with two to three variations on each of the six primary and secondary hues, and two panels in black.

A Recent History of Art in Western Massachusetts: Flooded River for Lane Faison (Mass MoCA #12) (2005) by Stephen Hannock (b.1951), one Americas foremost contemporary landscape painters, was made possible with funds from Louis M. Bacon. The large mixed-media collage depicts a view westward into the setting sun of the Hoosic River Valley between North Adams and Williamstown. Passages of text visible throughout the scene document the cultural life of northwestern Massachusetts and the artists, art historians, and other art world figures who have lived and worked there over the years, including the artist himself.

Sculpture
A beautiful marble creation of the late Renaissance, The Young John the Baptist (c.16101630), now on view in the ground floor Sculpture Galleries in the West Building, was purchased with funds from the Patrons Permanent Fund. The sculpture was designed to be viewed from all sides; different aspects are exceptionally subtle in transition. It was erroneously attributed to Michelangelo in the 1950s and 1960s. The attribution to Giovanni Francesco Susini (1585-c.1653) was recently made by the noted Renaissance scholar Francesco Caglioti, whose argument is founded on similarities between this work and a signed Bacchus by the same sculptor now in the Louvre.