8 ANNUAL. REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1939 



N. Garner, Vice President of the United States; members from the 

 Senate — M. M. Logan, Charles L. McNary, Alben W. Barkley ; mem- 

 bers from the House of Kepresentatives — Charles L. Gifford, Clar- 

 ence Cannon, William P. Cole, Jr.; citizen members — Frederic A. 

 Delano, Washington, D. C. ; John C. Merriam, Washington. D. C; 

 R. Walton Moore, Virginia; Roland S. Morris, Pennsylvania; 

 Harvey N. Davis, New Jersey; and Arthur H. Compton, Illinois. 



Proceedings. — The annual meeting of the Board of Regents was 

 held on January 12, 1939. The Regents present were Chief Justice 

 Charles Evans Hughes, Chancellor; John N. Garner, Vice President 

 of the United States ; Senator M. M. Logan ; Representatives T. Alan 

 Goldsborough and Charles L. Gifford: Citizen Regents Frederic A. 

 Delano, John C. Merriam, R. Walton Moore, Harvey N". Davis and 

 Arthur H. Compton ; and the Secretary, Dr. Charles G. Abbot. 



The Secretary presented his annual report, covering activities 

 during the year of the parent institution and of the several Govern- 

 ment branches, and Mr. Delano presented the report of the executive 

 committee, covering financial statistics of the Institution. The Board 

 accepted these reports. 



The Secretary also presented the annual report of the Smithsonian 

 Art Commission, the membership of which is as follows: Charles L. 

 Borie, Jr., Chairman; Frank Jewett Mather, Jr., Vice Chairman; 

 Charles G. Abbot (ex officio). Secretary; and Herbert Adams, Louis 

 Ayres, Gifford Beal, Gilmore D. Clarke, George H. Edgell, David E. 

 Finley, James E. Eraser, Frederick P. Keppel, John E. Lodge, Paul 

 Manship, George B. McClellan, Edward W Redfield, Mahonri M. 

 Young. 



In his usual special report the Secretary mentioned briefly the 

 more important activities carried on by the Institution and its 

 bureaus during the year. 



FINANCES 



A statement will be found in the report of the executive commit- 

 tee, page 133. 



MATTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST 

 THE SMITHSONIAN GALLERY OF ART 



On May 17, 1938, the President approved a congressional resolu- 

 tion which authorized him to set aside ground on the Mall for a 

 Smithsonian Gallery of Art. The resolution also created the Smith- 

 sonian Gallery of Art Commission, which was authorized to obtain 

 a design for a "suitable building for properly housing and displaying 

 the national collections of fine arts and * * * to exhibit the 

 works of artists worthy of recognition." An appropriation of $40,000 



