Provenance

Samuel H. Kress

American, 1863 - 1955

Explore Selected Works

See all 95 works of art
Andrea della Robbia, Italian 16th Century, Saint Peter, c. 1900/1925 (figure); c. 1550 (framing garland), glazed terracotta, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.329

Saint Peter

Andrea della Robbia, Italian 16th Century · c. 1900/1925 (figure); c. 1550 (framing garland) · glazed terracotta ·  Accession ID  1939.1.329

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Book Cover with Christ in Majesty

French 13th Century · c. 1210 · champlevé enamel on copper, with traces of gilding, mounted on wooden backing ·  Accession ID  1961.9.182

Italian 15th/16th Century, Saint Sebastian, late15th/early 16th century, nielloed silver, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.118

Saint Sebastian

Italian 15th/16th Century · late15th/early 16th century · nielloed silver ·  Accession ID  1961.9.118

Italian 15th/16th Century, Half Figure of a Saint with Chalice and Book (Possibly Saint John the Evangelist), late 15th/early 16th century, nielloed silver, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.115

Half Figure of a Saint with Chalice and Book (Possibly Saint John the Evangelist)

Italian 15th/16th Century · late 15th/early 16th century · nielloed silver ·  Accession ID  1961.9.115

Lombard 15th Century, Lombard 16th Century, Martyrdom of Saint Agatha, late 15th/early 16th century, Nielloed silver with gilded ground, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.128

Martyrdom of Saint Agatha

Lombard 15th Century, Lombard 16th Century · late 15th/early 16th century · Nielloed silver with gilded ground ·  Accession ID  1961.9.128

Italian 15th/16th Century, Agnus Dei (Lamb of God), late 15th/early 16th century, nielloed silver, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.131

Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)

Italian 15th/16th Century · late 15th/early 16th century · nielloed silver ·  Accession ID  1961.9.131

Lombard 16th Century, Possibly Martyrdom of Saint Stephen, 16th century, Nielloed silver with gilded ground, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.122

Possibly Martyrdom of Saint Stephen

Lombard 16th Century · 16th century · Nielloed silver with gilded ground ·  Accession ID  1961.9.122

About two dozen people ride horses or stand near a woman, Mary, holding a nude baby, Jesus in a landscape in this vertical painting. The people wear robes or tunics in shades of emerald green, ruby red, butter yellow, celestial blue, and ivory white. Jesus sits on Mary’s lap in the lower center of the composition, just in front of a tall structure with open walls and a pitched roof. A rectangular trough on legs is just behind Mary. Both Mary and Jesus have pale skin, blond hair, and long faces with flat features. A translucent veil covers Mary’s hair, which falls past her shoulders. Her red dress has a white collar and cuffs, and a midnight-blue cloak falls from her shoulders, across her lap, and puddles in thick folds on the ground. The cloak is edged in gold and jewels. One hand props up Jesus’s shoulder and the other wraps around his other forearm. Jesus faces and looks at a kneeling, pale-skinned man to our right who holds out a bronze-colored vessel with both hands. The kneeling man has a white beard and hair, and wears a gold-trimmed, hooded red cloak over a navy-blue robe. To our right, in the lower corner, three men stand and look toward Mary and Jesus. One wears a gold crown nestled into a tall green hat, a fur-lined red cloak, and a jeweled pendant. He holds the hinged lid of a gold cup open. The man next to him holds a green hat against his chest, and the third, smaller in scale, stands with his back to us. That man also holds a crowned hat, presumably of the kneeling man. Three more men up along the right edge of the composition ride horses and a fourth holds a chest across one shoulder. All of the people on this side have pale skin. Four more people ride horses, a camel, or stand at the back of the structure. Two of these men have dark brown skin, and one of those has exageratedly large red lips. The other two men are pale-skinned, and all four wear unusually shaped conical hats or turbans. Two pale-skinned men wearing brown or black and white monks’ robes face each other next to the half wall to our left. Three people stand in the lower left corner, closer to us. A person at the front of the group has light brown skin and wears a gold and jeweled crown around a column of black hair. The shimmering green tunic is edged with gold and jewels, and that person holds a gold and crystal orb in one hand. A person with dark brown skin wears a white turban, red robe, and gold rings and earrings stands behind, and the third person has light brown skin and stands with his back to us, looking at Mary and Jesus. These three people also have oversized red lips and bulbous noses. Behind this trio, up along the left edge of the composition, five pale- and brown-skinned people ride or move between five horses and one camel. Two more pale-skinned people stand inside the structure to our right, at that back corner. One has a white beard and hair partially covered by a fur-lined, hooded red robe. The other wears a waist-length, green velvet cape over red stockings and high boots. A square gold and jeweled panel hangs on a chain around his neck and a sword hangs at his side. Several monkeys and three thin dogs are scattered around the scene. Two dogs wear wide, jeweled collars and one wears a red and gold jacket. The monkeys have chains around their necks or waists. One monkey, close to us, has a gold up at the other end of the chain. People walk along a path across the landscape, beyond the structure. Olive-green and ochre-yellow hills roll back to a body of water with a town on the far shore in the background. The horizon comes three-quarters of the way up the composition, and a few wispy white clouds skirt across the ultramarine-blue sky above.
North Netherlandish 15th Century, The Adoration of the Magi, fourth quarter 15th century, oil on canvas transferred from panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.41

The Adoration of the Magi

North Netherlandish 15th Century · fourth quarter 15th century · oil on canvas transferred from panel ·  Accession ID  1952.5.41

Italian 15th/16th Century, Monastic Saint with Cross and Book, late 15th/early 16th century, nielloed silver, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.137

Monastic Saint with Cross and Book

Italian 15th/16th Century · late 15th/early 16th century · nielloed silver ·  Accession ID  1961.9.137

Italian 15th/16th Century, Saint John the Baptist, late 15th/early 16th century, nielloed silver, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.117

Saint John the Baptist

Italian 15th/16th Century · late 15th/early 16th century · nielloed silver ·  Accession ID  1961.9.117

Bibliography

1955

  • A.F. "In Memoriam Samuel H. Kress." Art News 54 (November 1955): 21.

1991

  • Perry, Marilyn. "Five-and-dime for millions: the Samuel H. Kress Collection." Apollo 133, no. 349 (March 1991): 157+

1994

  • A Gift to America: Masterpieces of European Painting from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. Exh. cat. The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Seattle Art Museum; The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1994: 12-41.