kressfoundation.org

Samuel H. Kress Foundation advances the study, preservation, and enjoyment of European art and architecture from antiquity to the early nineteenth century. Established in 1929 by Samuel H. Kress, the foundation directs its philanthropy toward art museums, universities, conservation training, and scholarly research, with a long-running emphasis on the history of art, art conservation, and the care of collections. Its grantmaking is national and international in scope, but it is especially visible in programs that support American institutions stewarding European works of art. The foundation’s current program lines include History of Art grants, Conservation grants, Digital Art History initiatives, and support for Interpretive Fellowships at art museums. It also funds the Kress Institutional Fellowship in the History of European Art, a two-year postdoctoral fellowship placed at museums, libraries, and research centers, and it backs the Kress Conservation Fellowships that strengthen professional training in conservation. Another concrete anchor is the Kress Program in Paintings Conservation at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, one of the best-known conservation training programs in the United States. Beyond fellowships, the foundation supports exhibitions, publications, and the professional development of emerging and established scholars and conservators. The organization is headquartered in New York City. Its work reflects the legacy of the Kress Collection, a major group of European paintings and sculpture distributed to museums across the United States, which helped shape access to European art far beyond a single metropolitan center. Through grants, fellowships, and institutional partnerships, Samuel H. Kress Foundation remains a specialized philanthropic force in art history and conservation education.