REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 33 



and professional field have been held by the Commission. The nu- 

 clear staff has been slightly increased so that it will be in a position 

 to employ and train the staff which will be required when the build- 

 ing is completed and taken over by the Government. Twelve persons 

 were employed on the Government roll as of June 30, 1940. This 

 staff has been engaged in preparatory work and the compilation 

 of the catalogs for the Gallery, and in the purchase of supplies 

 and furniture to be placed in the Gallery building when completed, 

 and in other matters looking toward the opening of the Gallery 

 to the public. Until the Gallery is completed, the staff is being 

 housed in offices furnished by The A. W. Mellon Educational and 

 Charitable Trust. 



A large part of the equipment, supplies, furniture, and furnish- 

 ings have been purchased for delivery as soon as the building is 

 completed. Favorable progress has been made upon the complete 

 cataloging of the works of art in the national collections which will 

 be housed in the Gallery building. 



APPROPRIATIONS 



For salaries and expenses, for the upkeep and operation of the 

 National Gallery of Art, the protection and care of the works of 

 art therein, and all administrative expenses incident thereto, as 

 authorized by the act of March 24, 1937 (50 Stat. 51), as amended 

 by the public resolution of April 13, 1939 (Pub. Ees. No. 9, 76th 

 Cong.), there was appropriated for the fiscal year 1941 the sum of 

 $300,000. Of the sum of $159,000 appropriated by Congress for 

 the period July 1, 1939, to June 30, 1940 (53 Stat. 984), $158,985.75 

 was expended or encumbered, in the following detailed amounts, 

 for personal services, printing and binding, and supplies and equip- 

 ment, leaving an unencumbered appropriation of $14.25. 



Expenditures and encumbrances 



Personal services $21, 284. 63 



Printing and binding 1,901.47 



Supplies and equipment 135, 799. 65 



Total 158, 985. 75 



ACQUISITIONS 



On February 12, 1940, the Board of Trustees accepted, from The 

 A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, a valuable gift of 11 

 celebrated paintings by early American artists which are considered 

 outstanding not only for their aesthetic but also their historical merit. 

 These paintings will be placed in specially designed rooms when the 

 building is completed. This gift marks the first step toward setting up 



