National Gallery of Art West Building In the 1920s, art collector and financier Andrew Mellon decided that the city needed a proper museum of art to rival those in Europe. With construction funds, a sizable endowment, and art all donated from Mellon, construction on the National Gallery of Art was begun in 1937. The building, designed in a classical style by John Russell Pope, was dedicated on March 17, 1941. The museum quickly attracted donations from other prominent art dealers, and today features art from around the world. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=John+Russell+Pope">John Russell Pope</a> Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/gsc1994016286/PP/">View original.</a> 03/17/1941 (Dedicated) <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1920-1949">1920-1949</a>