REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 35 



RESTORATION AND REPAIRS TO WORKS OF ART 



During the year, as authorized by the Board, Stephen Pichetto, 

 Consultant Restorer to the Gallery, has undertaken such work of repair 

 and restoration of paintings as has been found to be necessary, at his 

 studio in New York. Such paintings when completed have been 

 returned in excellent condition. Other necessary repairs and restora- 

 tion to works of art in the collections will be done by Mr. Pichetto 

 during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941. 



PAINTINGS LOANED AND RETURNED 



During the year the following paintings from the Mellon collec- 

 tion were returned from the Masterpieces of Art Exhibition at the 

 New York World's Fair where they had been on loan for the period 

 April 30 to October 31, 1939, as reported by the Board of Trustees 

 last year: 



Painting Artist 



Self-Portrait Rembrandt. 



An Old Woman Seated Hals. 



A Gentleman Greeting a Lady Terborch. 



Also, the following paintings from the Mellon collection were re- 

 turned from the Golden Gate International Exposition at San Fran- 

 cisco where they had been on loan for the period February 16 to 

 December 31, 1939, as reported by the Board of Trustees last year : 



Painting Artist 



A Young Man at Table Rembrandt. 



Portrait of Balthasar Coymans Hals. 



A Dutch Courtyard Pieter de Hooch. 



CURATORIAL WORK 



Curatorial work during the year consisted primarily of studying 

 and cataloging the large Mellon and Samuel H. Kress collections 

 and in making recommendations for the installation of these collec- 

 tions in the Gallery building when it is completed. 



PUBIJOATION8 FUND 



In its meeting of February 12, 1940, the Board adopted a resolu- 

 tion approving a plan for a publications fund. Carrying this plan 

 into effect, a sum was advanced by The A. W. Mellon Educational 

 and Charitable Trust to establish the Publications Fund, the pur- 

 pose of which is to ensure that catalogs, handbooks, color reproduc- 

 tions, postcards, and similar material, of the highest quality but at 

 moderate cost, shall be available to the public for educational and 

 study purposes when the Gallery is opened. Considerable progress 

 has already been made in the preparation of these publications. 



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