Corcoran Gallery of Art and Corcoran College of Art + Design, Corcoran Gallery of Art financial records

The first section of this history, covering events through 1981, was prepared by Corcoran Archivist Katherine M. Kovocs for publication in 1985 with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For a large part of the Corcoran's history, the financial affairs of the Gallery were administered by the Treasurer of the Board of Trustees. The Treasurer saw to the maintenance of income and expense records, handled the Gallery's investment activities, and submitted the annual budget for Board approval. The Treasurer was traditionally a senior member of a banking or investment firm. Most have been affiliated with the Riggs National funk whose co-founder, George Riggs, was one of the original Corcoran Gallery trustees and its first Treasurer. The financial concerns of the Gallery in the 19th and early 20th centuries focused primarily on various real estate notes assumed by the Corcoran as well as the leasing/rental of Gallery-owned property. The Treasurer shared in carrying out these duties with the Trustees' Committee on Accounts (which "authored" the annual budget) and the Committee on Finance and Investment, which was chaired by the Treasurer. There was no known staff member assigned to perform these financial tasks at that time.

During the Depression years the Gallery experienced some financial setbacks and changes in its accounting procedures. By 1930 the Corcoran was the recipient of funds other than the original W.W. Corcoran endowment fund and, subsequently, the Treasurer established an accounting system organized by fund: the Gallery Endowment Fund, Clark Additional Maintenance Fund, Art School Fund, W.A. Clark Fund, Anna E. Clark Fund, and Mary E. Maxwell Fund. The Trustee Committee on Accounts was abolished and professional auditors brought in to monitor finances. Finally the Corcoran staff experienced a 5-10% salary decrease beginning in 1933 to maintain a balanced budget.

The 1940s decade saw numerous changes in the Corcoran's financial affairs. The establishment of the Comptroller's position in 1940 and the Assistant Treasurer's post in 1944 was a result of the increasingly complex nature of the Gallery's finances. Both posts were created to assist the Treasurer in maintaining the Gallery's income and expense and investment accounts. Additional finance staff and procedural changes were initiated in 1948. The Comptroller's position was eliminated (but was reinstated in 1957); and the "Gallery Contingent Fund”, a bank account accessible to the Corcoran director to pay miscellaneous bills and expenses, was abolished. The Assistant Treasurer, under the Treasurer's supervision, paid all expenses. And finally, the Assistant Treasurer became a full-time staff member and was responsible for establishing; "a modern set of books and plac(ing) all funds under control of the Treasurer, covering both operating and principal (capital) accounts" (Trustee minutes 10/1/1948). All these efforts reflect various attempts to modernize the Gallery's organizational structure and recordkeeping procedures. The late 1960s to early 1970s proved to be difficult years from the Corcoran financially. One important change in the finance recordkeeping process was the 1967 decision by the Trustees, on recommendation from the Treasurer, to band the various endowment fund accounts together into one fund. The "Consolidates Endowment Fund" pooled all endowment resources into one account and, therefore, simplified the recordkeeping process for these funds.

This 1968-1974 period also saw the Gallery (and the School) burdened with a large deficit for the first time in its history. Concern over deficit budgets mounted, especially when endowment funds began to be used to meet expenses. Such actions established a dangerous precedent in many minds. This period also saw many changes in the composition of the Board of Trustees and the Gallery staff: changes which were accompanied by frequent alterations in staff and trustees responsibilities for the financial affairs of the Gallery. Two trustee committees were established to administer Corcoran finances: the Finance Committee and the Investment Committee. Membership on each was increased from the customary 3 or 4 Trustees to include, at some points in time, up to ten people. A third committee created at this time, the Operations Committee, was in charge of the entire operation of the Gallery and School. The Committee focused, however, on establishing administrative efficiency and fiscal soundness at the Corcoran and devoted much of its time to the deficit budgets and fundraising. And finally, the full Board of Trustees involved itself more deeply in the financial affairs of the Gallery than ever before, its participation brought on by the chronically large deficit budgets.

Administrative staff changes also occurred during this period. Between 1968 and 1972 new positions such as Executive Vice-President, Vice-President for Management, Director of Development and Planning and Chief Executive Officer were created to gain effective control over expenses and to increase income. By 1969 the Gallery budget, once the almost exclusive responsibility of the Treasurer and Director, was produced collectively by various senior staffers. Organizational changes removed the Treasurer from active participation in the Gallery/School budget process for the first time in the history of the Gallery. In this new capacity, the Treasurer focused in the Endowment Fund and the general investment practices of the Corcoran. By the early 1970s the Gallery's administrative staff had assumed full responsibility for creating the annual budget as well as maintaining all financial records.

In recent years the financial tasks performed by both the administrative staff and the Trustees have become more defined and systematic. The Board created an Audit Committee in the late 1970s, composed of four to five Finance and Investment Committee members, to oversee the annual auditing process. This is in addition to the Trustees' customary responsibility for monitoring and approving all financial concerns and major activities of the Corcoran. The Finance Office sees to the daily operation of the Gallery's financial affairs and plays an important role in the budget process, along with the Director, Dean, and the various Gallery department heads. The office staff has grown in recent years with the increase in the variety and volume of that office's activities.

The following section of this history was prepared in 2019 by George Washington University SCRC staff with the support of the Luce Foundation.

Beginning in the mid-1980s, the Corcoran began exploring development options for the adjacent New York Avenue plot in order to generate revenue. Initial plans involved leasing the land in order for an office building to be constructed, and then shifted towards the creation of an expansion to the Corcoran building that would increase gallery space and allow for greater expansion of the Corcoran School of Art. From this point, the School and the revenue generated by tuition would begin to take on greater importance in the Gallery’s budget.

Following the contentious canceling of the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition “The Perfect Moment” in 1989, the Corcoran’s finances suffered as a result of decreased membership, visitation, and donations, leading to a $1.2 Million shortfall in their budget in 1990. Increased spending from the Endowment put its sustainability into question. Also beginning in the 1990s, persistent building maintenance issues would create financial pitfalls for the Corcoran that would create long-lasting obstacles to a fully-balanced budget.

Following the appointment of David C. Levy as President and Director in November 1990, the Corcoran began to take steps to stabilize their finances. The Gallery shifted towards a more conservative expense-based budget, and made successful calls for the Board of Trustees to increase their involvement and monetary support. A Five-Year Plan was created in 1993 that focused heavily on fiscal conservancy and increasing the capacity of the Corcoran School of Art, while acknowledging the need to stabilize the Gallery’s financial base.

In 1994, the Corcoran adjusted the formula for determining spendable return on the endowment fund to 4.8%. While this increased the endowment fund, the Gallery faced several up-and-down years as adjustments to budget and finance addressed problems, and new issues or shortfalls arose in turn.

As part of an effort to secure more stable funding, the Gallery’s attention shifted towards the construction of an expansion to the main Corcoran Building, to be known as the Gehry Expansion. The expansion would house more Gallery space, as well as expanding the facilities for the Corcoran School of Art, allowing for larger enrollment numbers. Announced in 1999, the majority of the cost was to be covered by a major fundraising effort called the Capital Campaign.

In 2005, the Corcoran Board of Trustees announced that plans for the Gehry expansion would be shelved indefinitely due to the inability to fully raise the funds needed. Following this decision, the Corcoran continued to focus on the school as a revenue factor, but faced an increasing deficit and concerns over the sustainability of the institution. In 2010, the Corcoran began to sell or plan to sell their remaining properties, including the Randall School, Fillmore School, and 1700 New York Avenue. Annual financial audits revealed continued net losses for the Gallery.

By November 2011, the Corcoran had conducted six Development Studies that each indicated the need to raise a large amount of money, but did not offer concrete solutions. Concerns were expressed about increased spending from the endowment.

In January 2012, the Board of Directors determined that the only financially viable options were for the Gallery to sell the Flagg building and move or to explore a viable partnership with another museum or college. During this time the Gallery faced continued trouble with fundraising. Several exhibition were placed on hold and tuition for the College was raised while the Gallery attempted to build a sustainable financial plan.

The Board had also been borrowing money from endowment and deaccessioning funds during this period, authorizing the spending of up to $1.5 million until September 30, 2012 with the intention that the funds would be restored from the proceeds of the 1700 New York Avenue real estate transaction. By March of 2012, the Corcoran was exploring the option of selling pieces of the collection.

In 2013, the Gallery announced that the Corcoran would be partnering with the University of Maryland to preserve the Corcoran and to extend the University of Maryland’s presence in D.C. However, In 2014, The Corcoran unexpectedly announced that they would not be partnering with the University of Maryland, and instead would be dissolved and split between the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University. Under this agreement, the National Gallery of Art would be given the majority of the Corcoran’s collection, and George Washington University would take over the Corcoran College of Art + Design and the Corcoran’s Flagg building on 17th Street.