By Beans Lee, B.A. ‘24, Art History
A historical postcard in the Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection features a photograph of the Renwick building from 1859, when the exterior was completed. Architect James Renwick, Jr., known for his work on the Smithsonian Castle, designed the building, which now bears his name. But William Wilson Corcoran, a business tycoon and fine arts connoisseur with a large art collection, was ultimately responsible for the building’s construction. After visiting Europe in the 1850s, Corcoran was perturbed by the differences between the arts scenes in European capitals versus Washington, D.C. His belief that fine arts conveyed wealth, prosperity and taste spurred him to commission the Renwick — directly across from the White House. The Renwick was the first building constructed solely for displaying art in the United States. It was affectionately referred to as the American Louvre, as Renwick, Jr. was inspired by the Louvre’s Second Empire design.
Before the gallery could open, the Civil War broke out. Corcoran, who initially made his fortune selling bonds for the Mexican-American War, was sympathetic to the Southern cause of maintaining chattel slavery. This sentiment caused friction with the Union government. In a show of good faith, Corcoran gave the government wartime control of the Renwick building, and he went back to Europe, where he remained until the conflict’s end.
In 1869 Corcoran regained control of the gallery. He finally opened its doors to the public in 1874. Corcoran’s collection mostly featured European and American art, including landscapes painted by the Hudson River School. The collection eventually outgrew the space. In 1897 Corcoran moved his collection a few blocks south to the present-day Corcoran Building (now known as the George Washington University Flagg Building). After the move, the government repossessed the Renwick building, which became the Court of Claims.
By the 1950s the Renwick building had fallen into disrepair, and the Eisenhower administration initiated plans to demolish the architecturally out-of-style structure in favor of a more contemporary design. The demolition plans were still in place when President John F. Kennedy took office in 1961. First Lady Jackie Kennedy, however, appreciated the building’s Victorian architecture and successfully saved it from demolition. The Renwick was then handed over to the Smithsonian Institution, which reopened the space in 1974 to house American crafts and decorative arts. It remains open to the public. As for Corcoran’s collection, the Corcoran Art Museum dissolved in 2014, transferring 9,000 objects to the National Gallery of Art and its building on 17th Street NW to the George Washington University.
Beyond its place in D.C.’s local story, the Renwick building’s history offers insight into changing attitudes toward art. Fine art has long been a marker of class in the United States and Europe, as wealth affords opportunities to purchase and commission art, spend time learning about art styles and history, and practice museum etiquette, which can still be a barrier to entry at art institutions. The Renwick Art Gallery, established by a businessman who tolerated slavery and profited from war, was intended to showcase American class and wealth. It is worthwhile to deconstruct and interrogate these views of art and museums.
The decorative and craft art currently housed in the Renwick is a more recent attempt to expand the art historical canon with works and forms that elites and scholars once excluded. The Renwick’s current collection centers on art created by women, Indigenous people and other minorities. Corcoran’s desire to display his private collection of art, created mostly by White male artists, is in stark contrast to the Renwick’s current mission. This postcard captures a time when White elites dominated art collection and display in Washington — a visual that encourages one to question fine art’s role in culture. The building itself signifies changing attitudes toward art’s role in society, from markers of status to celebrations of creative expression in its many different forms.
Read our post “Socialite and Businessman: The Controversial Life of W. W. Corcoran” for more about Corcoran and his impact on Washington D.C.
About the Author
Beans Lee (they/them) graduated from GW in 2024, majoring in art history and minoring in English and philosophy. They are passionate about knowledge, disability theory, harm reduction and workers’ rights, and they are pursuing a career in the public library system.
Header image: Black-and-white printed postcard showing old Corcoran Gallery (Renwick) c. 1859; 1984. Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection AS 856.