Hammer to Give Old Masters’ Drawings to National Gallery

WASHINGTON —  Industrialist Armand Hammer announced Thursday that he is bequeathing his collection of more than 47 drawings by old masters and impressionists to the National Gallery.

The collection includes works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Albrecht Durer, Michelangelo and Rembrandt, along with Paul Gauguin, Camille Pissarro, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cezanne and Picasso.

The 88-year-old chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corp. said at a news conference that donating the collection gave him the same kind of satisfaction as acquiring the works.

‘A Labor of Love’

“This collection has been a labor of love for more than a quarter-century. It’s part of myself,” Hammer said. “But the real joy as a collector comes from being able to share it with others.”

The centerpiece of the collection is a Raphael “cartoon” for the painting “La Belle Jardiniere,” which is on display in the Louvre. A “cartoon” is the final version of a painting ready to be transferred to a more permanent surface, such as canvas or wood.

The Raphael “cartoon” is the only one of its kind by any Renaissance artist to be on display in the United States. It will be housed in a specially built chapel in the gallery’s West Building.

Gallery Director J. Carter Brown said Hammer’s generosity “is becoming legendary. The National Gallery and the nation will benefit by Dr. Hammer’s keen appreciation of the art of the old masters as well as his marvelous public spirit.”

Predicts Two Summits

Also at the news conference, Hammer, whose friendship among Soviet leaders began with Vladimir Lenin, predicted that President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev will have two summit meetings--one this year in Washington and another in Moscow in 1988.

“I’m convinced there will be a summit meeting this year,” he said. “Mr. Gorbachev will be received by President Reagan and I hope he will be received by the joint houses of Congress.”

He also said he believes “there will be a return summit in Moscow next year and President Reagan will have a chance to address the Russian people and they will know that we have no intentions to attack Russia.”