APPENDIX 3 

 REPOET ON THE NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS 



SiH : I have the honor to submit the following report on the activities 

 of the National Collection of Fine Arts for the fiscal year ended June 

 30, 1939 : 



The gallery of the National Collection was closed for renovation 

 during the last 4 months of the year and will probably be reopened 

 in the autumn of 1939. Tons of weak plaster have been replaced, and 

 the woodwork is being painted to match the light-colored monk's cloth 

 with which the walls are to be covered. This monk's cloth is "air- 

 conditioned" in that it is backed with rubber to prevent the irregular 

 collection of dirt which has been the major fault of loosely woven, 

 light-colored fabrics as wall coverings. The appearance of the gallery 

 will be greatly improved, and the collections will be seen to much 

 better advantage. 



APPROPRIATIONS 



For the administration of the National Collection of Fine Arts by 

 the Smithsonian Institution, including compensation of necessary em- 

 ployees, purchase of books of reference and periodicals, traveling ex- 

 penses, uniforms for guards, and necessary incidental expenses, 

 $34,275 was appropriated. This amount was reduced $750, bringing 

 it to $33,525, of which $16,542 was expended for the care and main- 

 tenance of the Freer Gallery of Art, a unit of the National Collection 

 of Fine Arts. The balance of $16,983 was spent for the care and 

 upkeep of the National Collection of Fine Arts, nearly all of this sum 

 being required for the payment of salaries, traveling expenses, books, 

 periodicals, and necessary disbursements for the care of the collections. 



THE SMITHSONIAN ART COMMISSION 



The eighteenth annual meeting of the Smithsonian Art Commis- 

 sion (formerly the National Gallery of Art Commission) was held 

 on December 6, 1938. The members met at 10:30 in the Natural 

 History Building, where, as the advisory committee on the accept- 

 ance of works of art which had been submitted during the year, they 

 accepted the following: 



Wash drawing on cardboard entitled "The Devil's Tower from Johnstons," 

 by Thomas Moran (1837-1926). Gift of the estate of John Holme Maghee, 

 through Mrs. John P. Marble, Chevy Chase, Md. 



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