The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.’s oldest private art museum, and its venerable college of art and design would cease to exist as an independent institution, and its key components — artwork, historic building and school program — would be taken over by the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University, under a plan announced Wednesday afternoon.  If the deal goes through, it’s the bittersweet end of the Corcoran’s long, slow decline.  Read the Washington Post article.