First Citizens Bank Loans Morrell Painting to National Museum of Women in the Arts

November 6, 2003

RALEIGH, N.C. - First Citizens Bank announced today that it is loaning the painting, The First Battle of the Puritans, by Imogene Robinson Morrell to the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C. The painting is being featured in the museum’s current exhibition, Enterprising Women: 250 Years of American Business.

First Citizens is proud to loan this important painting to the NMWA to help mark the artist’s historic place in 19th century American art, said Lewis R. Holding, chairman of First Citizens Bank. “We chose the museum because of its interest in the painting and its commitment to quality collections featuring women in the arts,” he said.

Morrell’s oil on canvas (1874), measuring 70 by 86 inches, depicts the aftermath of a battle scene as described by Longfellow in his poem of “The Courtship of Miles Standish.” First Citizens Bank purchased the painting earlier this year from the Peyton Wright Gallery in Santa Fe, N.M. The painting will remain at the museum for at least two years.

First Citizens has a long history of philanthropic support of the arts. The bank’s involvement encompasses a wide range of arts initiatives and cultural activities in many of its markets.

The museum commends First Citizens Bank for its dedication to the arts and for its generosity in loaning this painting, said NMWA Director Judy L. Larson. “We are most appreciative that First Citizens Bank is willing to make this loan,” she said. “It is important to the NMWA to have a significant work by Imogene Robinson Morrell included in our exhibition highlighting the achievements of successful women because Morrell was a District artist in the 19th century.”

Morrell (1837-1908) began her art training in Newark, N.J., and New York City and taught art in Massachusetts, where she was born. She is noted for having trained at two premiere European art centers of the 19th century, one of the few American women of her time to do so.

Morrell entered the American art scene in 1875 with the debut of two large history paintings, one of them First Battle of the Puritans. The painting received positive notice in Boston and then in New York at the National Academy of Design. In 1876, First Battle of the Puritans came to Philadelphia and the Centennial Exhibition, where it won honors.

In 1879, Morrell founded the National Academy of Arts in Washington, D.C., where she served as its director for 10 years. In 1896, much of her work was lost in a warehouse fire, but First Battle of the Puritans survived.

About NMWA

The National Museum of Women in the Arts, founded in 1981 and opened in 1987, is the only museum dedicated solely to celebrating the achievements of women in the visual, performing, and literary arts. Its permanent collection contains works by more than 800 artists, including Judith Leyster, Maria Sibylla Merian, Mary Cassatt, Camille Claudel, Georgia O’Keeffe, Frida Kahlo, Elizabeth Catlett, Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, and Louise Bourgeois. The museum also conducts multidisciplinary programs for diverse audiences, maintains a Library and Research Center, publishes a quarterly magazine, and has organized 27 state committees. Nearly 120,000 people visit the museum each year, including thousands of young people who come with schools and scouting groups. NMWA’s national membership of nearly 40,000 is among the top ten percent of museum memberships nationwide. The museum is located at 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., in a landmark building near the White House. For more information, call 202-783-5000 or visit the museum’s website, www.nmwa.org.

About First Citizens Bank

Founded in 1898, First Citizens Bank is headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. First Citizens is committed to providing superior financial services to individual customers and small to mid-sized businesses. The bank has 342 branches in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. First Citizens Bank is the lead subsidiary of First Citizens BancShares Inc. (Nasdaq: FCNCA), a $12 billion financial holding company. Another subsidiary, Atlantic States Bank, serves customers in Georgia and Florida. Atlantic States’ western division is IronStone Bank, which has offices in Texas, Arizona and California. IronStone Bank recently announced its application for entry into Colorado and New Mexico. For more information about First Citizens Bank visit firstcitizens.com or call toll-free 1-888-FC DIRECT (1-888-323-4732).

Barbara Thompson
(919) 716-2716
First Citizens Bank