SECRETARY'S REPORT 17 



National Gallery of Art, 1953-63 



The National Gallery of Art resulted from Andrew W. Mellon's 

 munificent gift to the American people of his great collection of art 

 and a splendid building in which to house it. 



Although a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution, the Gallery is 

 largely under the direction of a separate Board of Trustees of which 

 the Secretary of the Smithsonian is an ex officio member. 



In the decade under consideration, 4,220 works of art were acquired 

 by the Gallery, including outstanding gifts from the Samuel H. Kress 

 Foundation, Horace Havemeyer, William Nelson Cromwell, Syma 

 Busiel, the Fuller Foundation, Inc., Mrs. Mellon Bruce, Mrs. P. H. B. 

 Frelinghuysen, and many others. 



During the period 45 temporary loan exhibitions were held and 

 the annual series of lectures (A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts) 

 was delivered. These lectures are in the process of being published 

 in a notable series. Many articles and books by staff members have 

 also been published during this time. 



The annual nimiber of visitors to the National Gallery of Art has 

 more than doubled in the past 10 years, with an attendance of 1,793,500 

 in fiscal year 1963 compared with 887,213 in fiscal year 1954. 



Funds appropriated by Congress for maintenance of the Gallery 

 have increased from $1,274,473 in fiscal year 1954 to $2,100,769 for 

 fiscal year 1964. 



National Air Museum, 1953-63 



This bureau of the Smithsonian Institution has made significant 

 progress during the decade 1953-63. 



One measure of this progress is the increase in public interest in the 

 small exhibit (less than 5 percent of its collection) which the Air 

 Museum now has on display. For example, its old Aircraft Building, 

 now called the Air and Space Building (a small metal building erected 

 in 1917 as a test center for Liberty motors), had a visitor count of 

 237,446 in fiscal year 1953. In fiscal year 1963 the count was 2,673,618. 



The greatest need of the National Air Museum has been for a suit- 

 able building in which to display its great collection of the history of 

 manmade flight. Progress has been made toward achieving this 

 objective. In 1958 the Congress authorized the preparation of plans 

 and specifications for a new National Air Museum Building and 

 designated a beautiful Mall site for it. In 1963 planning funds were 

 appropriated by the Congress and planning will now begin. 



Very important progress has been made during the decade in the 

 teclmiques of storage, preservation, and restoration. In 1953 most 

 of the collection of historic aircraft, engines, and other aeronautical 

 materials were stored in an Air Force hangar at Park Ridge, 111. 



