APPENDIX 2 



REPORT ON THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 



Sir : I have the honor to submit herewith my report on the opera- 

 tions of the National Gallery of Art for the fiscal year ending June 

 30, 1931 : 



PRESENT DISTRIBUTION OF THE ART COLLECTIONS 



In 1920 the art collections of the Institution, so far as they had 

 been assigned to the care of the recently established National Gallery 

 of Art, were installed in the central skylighted hall of the new 

 Natural History Building of the National Museum. This hall 

 extends from the rotunda on the south to the north front of the 

 building, the windows of which look down on Constitution Avenue. 

 Permanent screens were introduced in this hall affording excellent 

 hanging space for the paintings. The disposition then made of the 

 numerous groups of art works has been changed from time to time 

 and important groups have been added. During the 10 years that 

 have passed slight record of the placement of these collections has 

 been kept, and it may be advisable to indicate here briefly the present 

 distribution. 



The Harriet Lane Johnston collection, an early bequest of great 

 value, comprising paintings and historical documents, is installed in 

 the northwest long room of this hall. Across the hallway from 

 this collection, occupying the northeast long room, is the Ralph Cross 

 Johnson gift of rare European old masters, presented in 1919. 



Distributed through a number of rooms, including the large cen- 

 tral gallery, are numerous groups of works by our American masters. 

 Prominent among these is the great gift of 152 paintings, represent- 

 ing 106 artists, by William T. Evans, of New York. The Alfred 

 Duane Pell collection of art objects of varied types and much inter- 

 est is accommodated in the north extension and hallway at the north 

 end of the hall. A number of the larger works of both paintings and 

 sculptures are installed in available spaces in the rotunda. 



On the ground and first floors are several groups of historical 

 paintings. First among these is the group of World War portraits. 

 Shortly after the close of the World War a number of Americans 

 organized a national art committee, the purpose of which was to ob- 

 tain portraits for the National Gallery of Art of a number of dis- 

 tinguished leaders of the allied forces. Entering this hall from the 



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