Grand Central Terminal Station 100th Anniversary, New York City, United States

- Grand Central Art Galleries
From 1922 to 1958 Grand Central Terminal was the home of the Grand Central Art Galleries, which were established by John Singer Sargent, Edmund Greacen, Walter Leighton Clark, and others. The founders had sought a location in Manhattan that was central and easily accessible, and through the support of Alfred Holland Smith, president of the New York Central Railroad, the top of the terminal was made available. A 10-year lease was signed, and the galleries, together with the railroad company, invested more than $100,000 in preparing the space. The architect was William Adams Delano, best known for designing Yale Divinity School's Sterling Quadrangle.
At their opening, the galleries extended over most of the terminal's sixth floor, 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2), and offered eight main exhibition rooms, a foyer gallery, and a reception area. A total of 20 display rooms were planned for what was intended as "...the largest sales gallery of art in the world." The official opening was March 22, 1923, and featured paintings by Sargent, Charles W. Hawthorne, Cecilia Beaux, Wayman Adams, and Ernest Ipsen. Sculptors included Daniel Chester French, Herbert Adams, Robert Aitken, Gutzon Borglum, and Frederic MacMonnies. The event attracted 5,000 people and received a glowing review from The New York Times.
A year after they opened, the galleries established the Grand Central School of Art, which occupied 7,000 square feet (650 m2) on the seventh floor of the east wing of the terminal. The school was directed by Sargent and Daniel Chester French. Its first year teachers included painters Jonas Lie and Nicolai Fechin, sculptor Chester Beach, illustrator Dean Cornwell, costume designer Helen Dryden, and muralist Ezra Winter.