National Gallery of Art
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The National Gallery of Art serves the nation by welcoming all people to explore and experience art, creativity, and our shared humanity.
- Income
- $382.9 million
- Spending
- $285.9 million
- Spent on programs
- 71%
- Reserves
- 19.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 70%
- Employees
- 962
- Volunteers
- 332
- Highest pay
- $2.5 million, director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 80% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, over $100m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 19.4 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 10% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 25% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 21% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1571% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 3 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 31% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, over $100m).
Independent board
25 of 259 of 9 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $104.1 million spent. COLLECTIONS, CURATORIAL AND ACQUISITIONS OF ARTThe National Gallery's collection is at the heart of the National Gallery's mission, following founder Andrew W. Mellon's gift and mandate to establish a national gallery with works of the highest quality. The collection of paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts traces the development of European achievements from the thirteenth century to the present and American art from colonial times to the present. It comprises a comprehensive study of Italian Renaissance art, including the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci outside Europe, as well as strong holdings of the French Impressionists, the Dutch and Flemish masters, one of the country's most distinguished American collections, and twentieth-century art. The collection also includes prints, drawings, rare books and photographs. Major post-World War II sculpture is installed in a dynamic and richly landscaped setting in the National Gallery Sculpture Garden.Over 163,000 paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, and photographs comprise the National Gallery's collection.AcquisitionsOver the past year, we have added 947 works of art to the permanent collection by purchase or gift. Select highlights of our acquisitions include "Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy" by Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the most famous seventeenth-century Italian painters. The presentation of the Magdalene is unusual, as she is absent her usual attributes of ointment jar and skull. Gentileschi stripped the subject down to the essential, a woman in a powerful state of transformation. Works by Artemisia Gentileschi are extremely rare and the acquisition of this work is a milestone for the National Gallery. The museum also acquired two works by Marguerite Gerard, who is recognized as one of the most important French artists of the Revolutionary period. ConservationThe Conservation Division continued to protect, preserve and steward our collections through 1,146 conservation treatments plus another 6,848 examinations of these artworks to preserve them for generations to come. Meanwhile, our curators continued to stage exhibitions and add to the collection in ways that allow us to welcome all people to explore and experience art, creativity, and our shared humanity.
- $63.6 million spent. EDUCATION AND PUBLIC PROGRAMSThe National Gallery advanced its educational mission by providing accessible art-based programs developed in collaboration with artists, musicians, filmmakers, scholars, educators, and community partners. The National Gallery delivered 3,066 educational and public programs, serving 157,666 participants onsite and virtually.A total of 36,212 visitors attended after-hours programs, including National Gallery Nights and Jazz in the Garden. The National Gallery served 12,273 participants through 82 film screenings featuring rare, non-commercial, international, and art films. Ongoing in-person our public tour series engaged 30,316 visitors, while 12,472 attendees participated in onsite and virtual talks and conversations. Multigenerational programs engaged more than 20,480 participants of all ages through family-oriented activities, including artmaking, story time, yoga, pop-up programs, and an online sketchbook club.Educational programs served 20,700 K-12 students nationwide through 403 school programs, including onsite tours, virtual lessons, and in-school workshops. Through the Across the Nation program, the National Gallery partnered with 10 museums and convened 176 educators from 12 states through two regional teacher institutes.The affiliate loan program expanded national access to the National Gallery's educational content by licensing films to broadcasters and distributing educational materials free of charge to K-12 schools, libraries, senior communities, and other organizations. This program reached an estimated self-reported audience of 50,313,733 viewers. In addition, approximately 10,372 posters were distributed to educators in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Armed Forces (AE), and Puerto Rico. The National Gallery also distributed 27,000 printed educational resources on site.The National Gallery Library digitized 493 rare and special collection titles for access online and added 4,208 digital images to the current online image collection catalog. The cataloging team contributed 144 name authority records to the Library of Congress and enhanced or corrected another 122 name records. 4,885 items were added into the collection. Website visits surpassed 15 million, while social media impressions reached 94.4 million and Stories surpassed 500,000 views. Our original videos engaged viewers nationwide, achieving a record 32.9 million views across all 50 states.In May 2025, the National Gallery launched a new website aimed at creating new pathways for visitors and online users to engage with our collection. The Imaging Department catalogued 20,575 images in the Enterprise Digital Asset Management (eDAM) system, a 43% increase over the previous year. The team added 5,409 collection images, and the Open Access program saw an increase of 34% increase from last year, totaling over 667,000 image downloads.The Center, founded in 1979, for advanced study in the visual arts, continued to foster the study of the production, use, and cultural meaning of art, artifacts, architecture, urbanism, photography, and film from all places and periods. In fiscal year 2025, the Center supported 46 fellows and organized 35 scholarly programs, with 4,883 attendees across in-person and virtual formats. We welcomed award-winning classicist Mary Beard as Kress-Beinecke Professor, where she worked on a number of projects, mentored predoctoral fellows, and held two public programs. Highlights from the Center's programs included a book discussion with Jennifer L. Roberts on "Contact: Art and the Pull of Print", the most recent of our Mellon Lectures volumes produced with Princeton University Press; the 74th A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts by Mabel O. Wilson; the Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art presented by Keith Sciberras; and a study day and public program in conjunction with the exhibition "Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment". The Center continued to develop the first volumes of its publication series, Art &, as well as the fifth installment of the Seminar Papers series, "Academies of Art in Europe and the Americas, 1600-1990".
- $27.4 million spent. SPECIAL EXHIBITIONSAn integral aspect of the National Gallery's programming is organizing and presenting special exhibitions of major works of art, both from our permanent collections, and lent from public and private collections around the world, highlighting the breadth of artistic achievement in all forms. Through collaborative relationships with other nations and museums, special exhibitions bring together great works of art and contribute to scholarship in the field.During the fiscal year, 263 lenders from 16 countries and 43 states loaned 946 works of art to eight exhibitions (six special loan exhibitions and two in-house exhibitions). The National Gallery also worked on an additional 14 projects scheduled to open within the next five years and administered the tour of three exhibitions."Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World" - This exhibition explored the role of art in the development of European natural history during the 16th and 17th centuries. Featuring nearly 75 works, it examined how artists documented insects and animals as scientific knowledge expanded, and included specimens from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History."In the Tower: Chakaia Booker: Treading New Ground" - This installation featured three large-scale sculptures by Chakaia Booker, who transforms discarded tires into abstract forms. The works addressed sustainability and cultural history through the reuse of industrial materials."With Passion and Purpose: Gifts from the Collection of Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson" - This exhibition celebrated recent and promised gifts of 175 works by Black artists from collectors Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson. Featuring more than 60 works, it highlighted artistic production over the past century and addressed themes such as abstraction, portraiture, and social change."Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955-1985" - This exhibition examined photography's role in the Black Arts Movement. Featuring approximately 150 works, it traced the movement from 1955 to 1985 and highlighted artists who explored Black history, identity, and cultural expression.All Other Special Exhibitions:"Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist""The '70s Lens: Reimaging Documentary Photography""Back and Forth: Rozeal., Titian, Cezanne""American Landscapes in Watercolor from the Corcoran Collection"
- $8.4 million spent. EDITORIAL AND PHOTOGRAPHYThe National Gallery's editorial and photography departments produce many publications produced by the National Gallery. An example is Systematic catalogs. These comprehensive catalogs contain research on the paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts in the National Gallery's collection.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending September 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since December 1965.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.