The Kress Foundation's mission centers on supporting scholarly projects aimed at promoting the appreciation, interpretation, preservation, study, and teaching of European art from antiquity to the early 19th century.
The History of Art grants program by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation aims to enhance the understanding and appreciation of European art and architecture. It supports scholarly projects that produce and share specialized knowledge in the field. This includes but is not limited to archival initiatives, the development of scholarly databases, documentation efforts, museum exhibitions and their corresponding publications, photographic documentation, scholarly catalogues, and technical or scientific research related to European art and architecture.