The artwork used as the basis of this stamp design is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, which was founded and endowed by Andrew Mellon in 1937. The nucleus of the original collection was 21 masterpieces, once owned by Catherine II of Russia and purchased in the early 1930s by Mellon from the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The gallery offers a wide range of educational activities including lectures, guided tours, films, concerts, and fellowship programs. It possesses a large library of books and periodicals in the fine arts and related fields.