136 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1920. 



years, and said that the history of Mr. Freer's great gift of art ob- 

 jects to the Smithsonian Institution was so well known that he would 

 give here only a brief outline of it. 



TJie Freer collections. — Mr. Freer assembled his collections with 

 a definite purpose, and he has made the American people the posses- 

 sors of a unique series of the finest existing examples of oriental art. 

 The collections comprise superb specimens of Egyptian, Mesopo- 

 tamian, Persian, and far-eastern pottery, ancient Egyptian colored 

 glass, Persian and Hindu miniature painting, and the paintings, 

 bronzes, and sculpture of China and Japan. 



Mr. Freer felt that American artists had interpreted the spirit of 

 oriental art, which led him to add some masterpieces of T. W. Dew- 

 ing (26 oils; 11 pastels; 3 silver points) ; Abbott H. Thayer (12 oils; 

 1 water color); Dwight W. Tryon (34 oils; 36 pastels; 2 water 

 colors) ; and last and most important, a great collection of etchings, 

 sketches, paintings, etc., by Whistler. The number of these is as 

 follows: 63 oil paintings; 44 water colors; 37 pastels; 113 drawings 

 and sketches; 3 wood engravings after designs by Whistler; 396 

 etchings and dry points, of many of which there are from two to five 

 impressions, making a total number of pieces 625; 166 lithographs 

 (194 impressions) ; 38 original copper plates. Also, the complete 

 wood work, including all the decorations, of the Peacock Eoom, the 

 famous creation of Whistler. 



The Peacock Eoom has recently been brought from Detroit and is 

 now ready for installation in the Freer Gallery of Art. 



The collections also include paintings by the American artists, 

 Winslow Homer, Chilcle Hassam, J. Gari Melchers, John S. Sargent, 

 Joseph L. Smith, J. H. Twachtman, Willard L. Metcalf, George de 

 Forest Brush, and J. Francis Murphy; and bronze sculptures by 

 Augustus Saint-Gauclens. 



At the time of the making of the offer by Mr. Freer to present his 

 collection to the Smithsonian Institution in 1904, it consisted of over 

 2,250 objects. In succeeding years this number has been more than 

 doubled by additions of objects from both the Orient and the Occi- 

 dent, the total number of objects in 1918 being 6,274. By reason of 

 later unrecorded additions the present total will not be known until 

 the collections are brought on from Detroit and installed in the gal- 

 lery, which will be ready to receive them in the spring of 1920. 



Mr. Freer was not a mere collector, as his methods were selective 

 after full study rather than accumulative. He visited the East 

 many times, and being in full sympathy with oriental peoples he 

 imbibed a profound understanding of their artistic sentiments and 

 aspirations. He was the only great collector in our country who 

 sought and seized opportunities in China, and his collection will give 



