National Academy of Design records, 1817-2012

The Ranger Fund assignment files document the distribution of artworks by living American artists to institutions throughout the United States, in accordance with the will of Henry Ward Ranger. The Ranger Fund was initiated to stimulate public interest in the work of contemporary American painters in 1919, when the National Academy of Design received a bequest from Henry Ward Ranger, totaling $400,000. Ranger stated in his will that the capital should be invested and the income used as a purchase fund to facilitate gifts of paintings by living American artists to arts institutions throughout the United States.

Files document the assignment of particular works of art to institutions through the official agreement, related correspondence, and in some instances, photographs of the artwork. Requests include questionnaire forms completed by requesting institutions regarding the nature of the building and public accessibility. Also included are lists of paintings for assignment and assignment location, as well as related correspondence. Purchases includes lists of artworks purchased with the Ranger Fund and related correspondence.

A stipulation of the Ranger Will was that the National Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, be able to acquire any artwork purchased with the Ranger Fund during a certain period of time after the artist's death. Smithsonian Institution files here contain annual reports with the purchases from each year and their assignments. Correspondence between the Smithsonian Institution and the Academy inform on the council's decision to assign particular paintings purchased with the Ranger Fund, detail purchases and allocations, and discuss whether or not to bring a painting into the National Gallery's collection within the designated time period.

A spreadsheet in box 43, folder 7 catalogs all assigned works from 1919-2007 and includes purchase date, price, original assignee, current assignment, and Smithsonian Institution accession date, when applicable.