THE RALPH CROSS JOHNSON COLLECTION IN 

 THE NATIONAL GALLERY AT WASHINGTON, 



D. C. 1 



By George B. Rose. 



[With 24 plates.] 



It is easy for a man to leave his pictures to a public gallery after 

 his death. He knows that he is thus erecting to his memory one of 

 the noblest and most enduring of monuments, and that he is insuring 

 the beloved objects against destruction. But for the living art lover 

 to part with his treasures is hard indeed. A thing of beauty is a 

 joy forever, and the longer we own it the closer it twines itself about 

 our hearts. We all remember the story of Cardinal Mazarin taking 

 leave of his pictures. He was a passionate and discriminating lover 

 of art, and his great collection is still the chief glory of the Louvre. 

 When told that he must die, he had himself borne to his gallery, and 

 there he took a last, long, fond, lingering view of each cherished pos- 

 session, parting from them all with an agonizing regret. He could 

 surrender earthly power and splendor with no great repining; but 

 to part with the pictures that he loved so much tore his heart. 



And so it is with every true lover of art. He is willing to lend his 

 pictures to the public, that others may share his joy for a time. 

 Occasionally, out of a large number he will give one to some public 

 gallery. But rarely indeed does he do more until forced by the hand 

 of death to yield them up. The gift by Mr. Ralph Cross Johnson of 

 24 choice old masters, to our National Gallery, has been but seldom 

 paralleled. 



These pictures have been hung together in one room, and they must 

 be forever kept together as a memorial of such unexampled gener- 

 osity. It is a collection rare for its even excellence. Each picture 

 is a good and, indeed, a notable specimen of the master's style. Too 

 often in our public galleries we see works of the great masters that 

 are unworthy of their brush, and which tend rather to prejudice the 

 public against these great men, than to incite admiration. 



In speaking of these pictures I do not write as an expert on at- 

 tributions. Mr. Johnson's collection has long been one of the most 

 notable in the country, and has been sufficiently expertized. To be 



1 Reprinted by permission from Art and Archaeology, Vol. X, No. 3, September, 1920. 



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