Great art doesn't grow on museum walls. It goes on a journey: from the artist's easel through galleries and auction houses to private homes and then, much later and after considerable appreciation, into the preservative fold of museum collections. On today's culture desk, art curator Stanton Thomas looks at how one man's love of old art helped make the Brooks Museum what it is today.

The Grand Canal from the Campo San Vio, 1730-1735
Artist: Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) , Italian, 1697 - 1768
Medium: Oil on canvas
Painting: 44 7/8 x 63 1/2 in. (114 x 161.3 cm)
Frame: 52 9/16 x 71 3/8 x 3 in. (133.5 x 181.3 x 7.6 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation
Object Number: 61.216
On View