SECRETARY'S REPORT 205 



CURATORIAL ACTIVITIES 



Under the direction of Dr. Perry B. Cott, chief curator, the cura- 

 torial department accessioned 291 gifts to the Gallery during the fis- 

 cal year 1962. Advice was given with respect to 1,586 works of art 

 brought to the Gallery for expert opinion and 24 visits to collections 

 were made by members of the staff in connection with offers of gifts. 

 About 4,435 mquiries, many of them requiring research, were answered 

 verbally and by letter. 



Miss Elizabeth Mongan, curator of graphic arts, lectured on 

 graphic arts at Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa., Cheltenham, 

 England, and Beaver College, Pa. She gave a course in graphic 

 arts to six seniors from Bryn Mawr College at Alverthorpe Gallery, 

 Jenkintown, Pa., October through January. She was on the jury of 

 selection for the Print Club of Philadelphia and for American Prints 

 Today, Print Council of America. 



Dr. H. Lester Cooke, curator of painting, lectured on modern art 

 at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and the Indiana 

 Club of Washington, D.C. He also gave two lectures to the Italian 

 Society of Washington. During the year Dr. Cooke assisted in judg- 

 ing the following art shows: Mid-States Annual, Evansville, Ind.; 

 Miniature Society of America, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 

 D.C. ; annual art exhibition of Charles County, Md. ; and the Indian 

 Head Art Society annual exhibition, Indian Head, Md. 



The Richter Archives received and cataloged over 679 photographs 

 on exchange from museums here and abroad, 96 purchased photo- 

 graphs, and about 1,000 reproductions. Five hundred photographs 

 were added to the Iconographical Index. 



RESTORATION 



Francis Sullivan, resident restorer of the Gallery, made regular 

 and systematic inspection of all works of art in the Gallery and on 

 loan to Government buildings in Washington, and periodically re- 

 moved dust and bloom as required. He relined, cleaned, and restored 

 12 paintings and gave special treatment to 26. Twenty paintings were 

 X-rayed as an aid in research. Experiments were continued with syn- 

 thetic materials suggested by the National Gallery of Art Fellowship 

 at the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, Pittsburgh, Pa. Tech- 

 nical advice on the conservation of paintings was furnished the public 

 upon request, and advice on and special treatment were given to works 

 of art belonging to other Government agencies, including the Wliite 

 House, U.S. Capitol, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Supreme Court. 



Mr. Sullivan made trips to various cities in connection with the 

 loan of paintings to the Gallei-y for special exhibitions. He also at- 

 tended a conference in Rome, Italy, on "Recent Advances in Conser- 



