Robert H. Smith, president emeritus, National Gallery of Art, died December 29; he was 81.
“The National Gallery of Art owes a profound debt of gratitude to Bob Smith for his unfailing generosity, connoisseurship and leadership throughout some four decades. He carried on the Mellon tradition of stewardship and philanthropy in a way that will have a lasting impact on the gallery †its collection, staff, scholars and visitors †for generations to come. The gallery extends its deepest sympathy to his wife, Clarice, and to the members of his family and to his wide circle of friends and colleagues,” said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art.
In September 2003, Robert H. Smith stepped down as president and trustee of the National Gallery of Art after decades of distinguished service. He began his leadership role with the gallery in 1982, when he became the first chair of the newly formed trustees” council, a national advisory body to the board of trustees. In 1985, he joined the board as a general trustee upon the retirement of Paul Mellon, a founding benefactor of the gallery, and in 1993 he succeeded John R. Stevenson as president.
Smith played a pivotal role in several major gallery initiatives during his tenure on the board of trustees. After serving on the campaign committee for the gallery’s Patrons’ Permanent Fund, in 1986 he became founding co-chair, with Katharine Graham, of The Circle, the gallery’s annual membership group. In 1991, he chaired the gallery’s 50th Anniversary Gift Committee, a group of Washington business and community leaders who made major gifts to secure acquisitions for the gallery. He also chaired the gallery’s New Century Fund campaign, which raised more than $123 million for a variety of private funding priorities.
During his tenure as president, Smith helped steer the gallery through a period of substantial growth. The Dutch Cabinet Galleries, the Sculpture Garden and the West Building ground floor Sculpture Galleries opened under his watch. He provided a magnificent inaugural exhibition of Renaissance bronzes from his personal collection for the opening of the Sculpture Galleries in the fall of 2002.
Smith and his wife Clarice, benefactors of the gallery, have given numerous gifts of art to the collection since 1972. On April 8, 2008, the National Gallery of Art announced that the Robert H. Smith Collection, one of the most important private holdings of Renaissance bronze sculpture, had been promised to the gallery by Smith. The collection encapsulates the history of Renaissance bronze sculpture in Europe at a superior level. It also includes outstanding carvings in ivory and bronze.
