THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 61 



1856 



The following remarks are from the report of Secretary Henry 

 for this year: 



"The Institution possesses a valuable collection of engrav- 

 ings, well calculated to illustrate every epoch in the history of 

 the art, as well as the style of the greatest masters. It is 

 desirable that a catalogue be prepared, under the names of the 

 engravers, in alphabetical series and with references to the vol- 

 ume and page, of the authors by whom the pieces have been 

 described and criticised. The smaller engravings should be 

 mounted in portfolios or volumes, and the larger regularly ar- 

 ranged, and where necessary, mounted on sheets of thick paper 

 or pasteboard, and placed in portfolios. A sufficient number 

 to illustrate various styles, and also such as are of extraordinary 

 merit, rarity, or cost, ought to be framed as a means of preserva- 

 tion as well as of exhibition. 



"It was a part of the original programme of organization, to 

 furnish accommodations free of expense for the exhibition of 

 works of art, and since there is no city of the Union visited by a 

 greater number of intelligent strangers than Washington, par- 

 ticularly during the session of Congress, it is, perhaps, one of 

 the best places in our country for this purpose. A few artists 

 during the past year have availed themselves of the advantages 

 thus afforded, and perhaps others would embrace the oppor- 

 tunity were the facts more generally known." 



1857 



Speaking of the Gallery of Art, Secretary Henry said: "Dur- 

 ing the past year this apartment of the Smithsonian building 

 was enriched by a faithful copy, in Carrara marble, of the 

 'Dying Gladiator,' one of the most celebrated statues of an- 

 tiquity. This copy, which is said to be the only one in marble 

 in existence, has been deposited here by its owner, F. W. Risque, 

 Esq., of the District of Columbia, to whom the public of this 

 country is indebted for his liberality in the purchase and free 

 exhibition of so costly and interesting a specimen of art. It is 

 by Joseph Gott, an English sculptor of high reputation, and its 



