72 THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 



the promotion of art by the Institution may be said to have 

 been at its lowest ebb. The fire had brought discouragement, 

 and the time was not propitious for arousing a popular inter- 

 est in the subject, the only means through which it could pos- 

 sibly be advanced. 



The Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876, however, 

 furnished an exceptional opportunity for bringing together ex- 

 amples of the natural and industrial products of a large part of 

 the world. At its close the liberal attitude of both foreign and 

 American exhibitors resulted in the presentation to this Govern- 

 ment of very extensive collections in which the arts and indus- 

 tries were most prominently represented. This acquisition, 

 much the largest and most important ever received at any one 

 time, led Congress to appropriate funds for the erection of the 

 present Museum building, finished in 1 88 1 . Although the greater 

 part of the material obtained at Philadelphia was placed on 

 exhibition as soon as the proper arrangements could be made, 

 the further rapid increase of the collections in various lines made 

 it necessary to remove much of it to storage where it still re- 

 mains. Among the subjects retained on display are several 

 in which artistic workmanship is a prominent if not dominating 

 feature, and these, through subsequent accessions, have now 

 come to be represented to the extent of the space available for 

 the purpose. These exhibits are mainly of the graphic arts, 

 ceramics, lacquers, and metal and glass work, with some art 

 fabrics and articles of personal adornment and utility. They 

 are not extensive, but contain many objects of much value and 

 interest. Although these subjects do not have a direct bearing 

 on the Gallery of Art as defined at present, they are here re- 

 ferred to as evidence of the fact that the entire field of art has 

 been comprehended in the scheme of the Museum, and that no 

 opportunity to add to the collections in this direction has been 

 neglected. 



In his first annual report, that for 1888, Secretary Langley 

 remarked : 



"The words of your first secretary, that the Institution exists 

 for knowledge in the highest sense, including not only science 

 commonly so called, but 'the true, the beautiful, as well as the 

 immediately practical,' remind us that one of the lines on which 



