26 EEPOET OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1919. 



served as a member of the committee from its organization on xYpril 

 16, 1908. By the appointment of Mr. Edmund C. Tarbell and Mr. 

 Douglas Volk, the committee is now constituted as follows: Dr. W. 

 H. Holmes, chairman and secretary, Mr. Edwin H, Blashfield, Mr. 

 Herbert Adams, Mr. Tarbell, and Mr. Volk. 



The recent formation by a group of public spirited and patriotic 

 men and women of a National Art Committee to secure for the Na- 

 tional Gallery of Art a series of portraits of military, civil, and 

 religious leaders in the World War, painted by American artists, is 

 of special significance since, aside from valuable additions to the 

 Gallery, it evidences the awakening of public interest in the welfare 

 of the nation's art collections. Hon. Henry D. White (one of the 

 peace commissioners) is the chairman of the committee; Mr. Her- 

 bert L. Pratt, of New York, secretary and treasurer ; and among the 

 members are Mr. J. P. Morgan, Mr. Henry Frick, Mrs. E. H. Harri- 

 man, Mr. Robert W. de Forest, Mr. Guy Lowell, and Dr. Charles 

 D. Walcott. There will be 20 or more portraits and the fund, already 

 underwritten, is in excess of $200,000. 



FREER COLLECTIONS. 



Much progress was made this year on the building for the 

 Freer collections being erected by the Institution, at the expense of 

 Mr. Charles L. Freer, on the southwestern comer of the Smithsonian 

 Reservation. The building was entirely enclosed at the end of the 

 year, the exterior granite and marble walls and the roofs being com- 

 pleted. Work on the interior is now progressing satisfactorily. 

 All interior limestone work is complete, ready for cleaning, and 

 the interior marble work, including marble floors, is four-fifths fin- 

 ished, and the plastering, plmnbing, heating, ventilating, and elec- 

 trical installations are likewise nearing completion. It is expected 

 that the structure will be entirely finished in the autumn. 



This building is specially designed and will be used for the Freer 

 collections of American and oriental art, which are by far the most 

 important within their particular fields in existence, and are valued 

 at several million dollars. The most recent transfer to the Institu- 

 tion by Mr. Freer aggregated ^28 objects, as mentioned in the 

 Museum report for 1918, bringing the number of items in the Freer 

 collections to upv/ard of 6,200. It will be recalled that in the 

 original agreement between Mr. Freer and the Institution, entered 

 into in 1906, the collections were to remain in the donor's possession 

 during his life, and only subsequently was the building to be con- 

 structed and the collections moved to Washington. The building 

 fund, as provided by Mr. Freer in the same deed of gift, was then 

 fixed at $500,000. Owing to the very gi^eat increase in the size of 

 the collections and the increased cost of building operations this 



