A Sorolla purchased by Washington

5/8/25 Acquisition - Washington, The National Gallery of Art - It was surprising that the National Gallery in Washington did not own a work by Joaquín Sorolla. Only a photographic portrait of the master by Gertrude Käsebier bore witness to his personality — if not to his art. Yet the Spanish painter was highly appreciated across the Atlantic — during his lifetime and after his death — which explains why many of his paintings are held in American public collections, from the Metropolitan to the Getty Museum. An exhibition in 2014 explored the importance of America in Sorolla’s career [1].

When the artist traveled to the United States in 1909, it was a triumph. He exhibited his work in New York, Boston, Buffalo, St. Louis, and Chicago, and managed to charm both institutions and private…