National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Library, Museum

National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, USA | © Grant Smith-VIEW / Alamy Stock Photo
Another national museum lucky enough to have a da Vinci work in its collection is the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. In fact, ‘Ginevra de’ Benci’ is the only painting by Leonardo on public view in the Americas. The portrait was one of Leonardo’s first experiments with oil painting; there are a few wrinkles on the panel that reveal he was still endeavoring to control it. The gallery acquired the portrait in 1967 for a sum of $5 million – a record price at the time.