Sold girl town gallery
(Source: National Gallery of Art)Īt the time, the only Leonardo painting remaining in a private collection-and, therefore, potentially available for purchase-was a small, unsigned portrait from the artist’s early career. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Leonardo da Vinci, Ginevra de' Benci, ca. Since Mona Lisa had drawn such an overwhelming public response, it seemed logical that the National Gallery should go after a Leonardo of its own. Nevertheless, Walker began to court a piece that seemed the unattainable gem of the art world. Unfortunately, very few Old Master artworks were actually available for purchase those that were sold for unfathomable prices. Inspired by the success of the exhibition, Walker began to show interest in acquiring new works for the collection-the more renowned, the better. The Gallery director, John Walker, took note: Washingtonians had an appetite for art. For the first time in its history, the Gallery even had to extend its hours to accommodate the massive crowds. Over half a million locals also came to see Mona Lisa while it was in Washington, waiting in lines for up to two hours. Due to the number of famous visitors, the New York Times called Mona Lisa the “temporary but undisputed queen of Washington society.” In the coming weeks, Washingtonians made clear that the painting was not only famous in notable circles. On January 9, it made its “brilliant American debut” at the National Gallery, witnessed by the Kennedys, members of Congress, and ambassadors. Widely regarded as the most recognizable painting in the world, it seldom left its home at the Louvre and had never been to the United States before. In a stunning feat of diplomacy, First Lady Jackie Kennedy persuaded the French government to lend one of its greatest treasures to the United States: Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The tide began to turn in 1963, when the Gallery hosted one of its first landmark exhibitions. A crowd gathers to view Mona Lisa during its 1963 National Gallery debut. Washington had a major art gallery, but it was still not an art capital. Though it featured paintings by notable artists, Mellon’s collection still paled in comparison to those of well-established museums, especially the other national galleries in Europe.
But even with Congressional backing and an impressive new building on the National Mall, the reputation of the Gallery was relatively modest in its first few decades. Andrew Mellon-banker, Secretary of State, and avid art collector-founded the Gallery in 1937, donating his personal collection to serve as the founding works of a public, national collection.
The National Gallery was still young in the 1960s. Suddenly, the eyes of the art world rested on Washington. Spokespeople at the Gallery could “neither confirm nor deny” the rumors, but this did nothing to quell the speculation and excitement. Two weeks later, the New York Times broke the news that Washington’s National Gallery of Art had landed the art deal of the century: the purchase of a painting by one of the most famous artists in the world, Leonardo da Vinci.
Despite all this, though, the only thing that came off the plane was a perfectly ordinary, plain grey American Tourister suitcase. In fact, the only indication of the plane’s arrival came through a coded message, sent by the FBI agents on board: “the Bird” had landed. No one could know where it came from and what it carried. On a cold night in January 1967, a plane landed quietly at National Airport.