Mitchell Rales, co-founder of Danaher, has made a substantial donation to the National Gallery of Art to expand its Across the Nation program, which lends artworks to smaller museums across the United States. The gift aims to increase accessibility to art and support the country’s artistic landscape amid funding cuts.
, the 69-year-old billionaire art collector and co-founder of healthcare company Danaher, it is the largest programming-related donation in the NGA’s history.
“It relates back to this idea of the National Gallery serving the nation more fully,” said Kaywin Feldman, director of the NGA. “It’s a patriotic gift. Mitch is a very patriotic person. It’s very important to him to give back to our country.
”launched its Across the Nation program in spring 2025, lending NGA’s exhibits to smaller museums while covering the lending costs of shipping and displaying. The program’s pilot has reached 900,000 people nationwide since its launch, and the new cycle will begin in 2027 and run through 2029. WASHINGTON, D.C.
– APRIL 20, 2018: Alexander Calder’s untitled aluminum and steel mobile hangs from the ceiling above visitors at the National Gallery of Art East Building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. “The defunding that’s going on for the arts as a whole—somebody’s got to pick up the slack,” Rales told the, noting the gift is intended to enhance the sustainability of the country’s artistic landscape.
Funding for the program initially came from Rales, which has brought works by Georgia O’Keeffe, Mark Rothko, and others from the NGA’s permanent collection to independent museums in 10 states.
“We have an incredible asset base in the form of 160,000 works of art, most of which end up in storage for long periods of time, because you just can’t show it all,” Rales said. “And so I started to say, ‘What do we need to do to put the word “national” into the National Gallery of Art?
’”“In its inaugural year, Across the Nation has already demonstrated the impact it can have at regional museums and in communities nationwide,” Rales said in a statement provided by NGA.
“I have long admired the National Gallery’s commitment to national service and sharing artistic excellence with all people. ”Rales joined the NGA’s board of trustees in 2006, the same year that he co-founded the Potomac, Maryland, private art museum Glenstone. He became NGA’s president in 2019 — an unpaid, part-time position — before being succeeded by Darren Walker in 2024.
Mitchell Rales, a member of the group buying the Washington Commanders, speaks at an introductory NFL football news conference at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. , Friday, July 21, 2023. The NGA, established with funding and art donated by Andrew W. Mellon, operates as a private-public partnership similar to theTrump has ‘mishandled’ ceasefire agreements: Byron YorkKalshi cracks down on candidates abusing platform as Pritzker targets insider trading
National Gallery Of Art Art Donation Mitchell Rales Across The Nation Program Art Accessibility
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