Paintings Loaned by the National Gallery of Art to the Supreme Court

I am researching some of the unique benefits of being a Supreme Court Justice. One of the perks is the ability to borrow priceless artwork from the National Gallery of Art. Over the years, I have seen scattered reports of which paintings the Justices have displayed in their chambers, but I could not find a complete list. I realized no such list exists.

Then I figured out a crude way to search for them. The National Gallery of Art includes an “Artwork History” section for each piece of art in its collection. A search for “Extended loan for use by Justice” or “Extended loan for use by Chief Justice” brings up artwork that was loaned to members of the Supreme Court. I suspect artifacts from the Smithsonian Institution may also be loaned to the Justices, but I could not (yet) figure out a comprehensive way of searching. 

Here is the list, with the Justices sorted by their date of appointment. Several pieces of art were passed between two Justices. 

Chief Justice Rehnquist, by far, had the mot paintings. Justices Stevens and Rehnquist had about the same amount.

• Marshall: Landscape (Imitator of Vincent van Gogh), 
• Rehnquist: Road in Provence (André Derain), First Landing of Christopher Columbus (Frederick Kemmelmeyer), Charles Evans Hughes (Augustus Vincent Tack), Abraham Lincoln (American 19th Century), Chapel in Provence (Captain Edward H. Molyneux), Boy in Blue (American 19th Century), Archery Contest (19th century Chinese Qing Dynasty), Little Girl with Pet Rabbit (Sturtevant J. Hamblin), Pink Roses (American 19th Century), Boy and Girl (American 19th Century), Jane Storm Teller (Ammi Phillips), Nayas Village at Sunset (George Catlin), Salmon River Mountains (George Catlin), Thomas Alston (Thomas Sully), Julianna Hazlehurst (Jacob Eichholtz), Portrait of a Gentleman (Possibly British 18th Century), Skating Scene (John Toole), Memorial to Nicholas M. S. Catlin (American 19th Century), Easby Abbey, near Richmond (George Cuitt the Younger), River Scene (Frits Thaulow), 
• Stevens: Portland Harbor, Maine (American 19th Century), La Bretonnerie in the Department of Indre (Gustave Courbet), Volendam Street Scene (Robert Henri), Queen Victoria (Studio of Franz Xaver Winterhalter), Street at Corté, Corsica (Maurice Utrillo), City Hall at Thorn (Eduard Gaertner), Scene from the Lower Mississippi (George Catlin), Hampstead Heath (Alphonse Legros), 
• O’Connor: Dog Dance – Sioux (George Catlin), A Little Sioux Village (George Catlin), Buffalo Chase, Sioux Indians, Upper Missouri (George Catlin), A Crow Village and the Salmon River Mountains (George Catlin), An Apachee Village (George Catlin), After the Buffalo Chase – Sioux (George Catlin), Two Blackfoot Warriors and a Woman (George Catlin)
• Scalia: George Washington (Gilbert Stuart), Henry Pratt (Thomas Sully), Peaceful Valley (Alexander Helwig Wyant), Charles Evans Hughes (Augustus Vincent Tack), Steamer “St. Lawrence” (James Bard), 
• Kennedy: Siberian Dogs in the Snow (Franz Marc), View of the Mall in Saint James’s Park (after Marco Ricci) 
• Souter: Harlan F. Stone (Augustus Vincent Tack), Captain Joseph Anthony (Gilbert Stuart), George Washington (Rembrandt Peale), William Constable (Gilbert Stuart), James Lloyd (Gilbert Stuart)
• Ginsburg: The Omen (Mark Rothko), Untitled (Mark Rothko), 
• Roberts: George Washington (Gilbert Stuart)

There were also a number of paintings that were on loan to the Supreme Court, but not to any particular Justice. I have to assume that these paintings were on display in individual chambers.

Chapala Beach, Mexico (Lily Cushing) 1970-86, Posada Garden with a Monkey (Lily Cushing) 1970-86, Anna Maria Cumpston (Charles Peale Polk) – 1971-81, Mrs. Day (Ammi Phillips) – 1971-82, The Singing Party (Attributed to Philip Mercier), 1972, Winter Valley (Lamar Dodd) – 1972, Dutch Ships in a Lively Breeze (probably 1650s) 1972-86, Curious Grassy Bluffs, St. Peter’s River (George Catlin) – 1972-91, The Island (John Hultberg) – 1972-86, Faraduro, Portugal (Leonid) 1972-73, The Square of Saint Mark’s, Venice (Follower of Francesco Guardi), 1973-80, Leaving the Manor House (American 19th Century) – 1973-93, Washington at Valley Forge (American 19th Century) 1974-82, The Flags, Saint Mark’s, Venice – Fête Day (Eugène Vail) 1974-82, Slaves’ Dance – Saukie (George Catlin)) – 1976-77, 1977-78, Catlin and Indian Attacking Buffalo (George Catlin) 1976-77, Vapor Bath – Minatarree (George Catlin) – 1976-77 Fruit and Flowers (American 19th Century) – 1977-81, Southern Resort Town (Dana Smith) 1977-78, Stylized Landscape (American 19th Century) – 1977-80, The Taj Mahal (Erastus Salisbury Field) 1980-81, Southern Resort Town (Dana Smith) 1984-1993, Composition (Hans Hartung), 1976-77, Untitled (Enrique Castro-Cid) – Marble Mantel (Karl Knaths) 1980-1993, 1988-89, Behind the Scenes (Jean-Louis Forain) 1987-98, Race Course at Longchamps (French 19th Century) – 1989-91, The Island of Raguenez, Brittany (Henri Moret) – 1989-96, Flowers in a Classical Vase (French 17th Century) – 1989, Heaton Park Races (John Ferneley) 1989-1994, Paris, rue du Havre (Jean Béraud) 1989-?, 

I am reasonably confident these lists are incomplete, as there are no listed pieces of art loaned after the early 1990s. The only exception was a painting of George Washington that moved from Justice Scalia’s chambers to Chief JusticeRoberts’s chambers. Maybe these records are no longer kept public? Or maybe the Justices no longer borrow art.

I hope these lists are useful to those who know something about art–I do not.

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