The recently announced proposal by the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Corcoran College of Art + Design to close both organizations and transfer their assets to the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University respectively is an orderly solution that preserves the Corcoran’s collections and is in the best interests of arts audiences and current and future students.

The Corcoran Gallery is one of the country’s oldest art museums, and was for many decades a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors. While AAMD and its members are saddened that the Corcoran arrived at this juncture, we are grateful to both the National Gallery and George Washington University for stepping forward and working towards a proposed solution that is in the public interest