XVI PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS. 



of Detroit, to intrust to the Smithsonian Institution a collection of works of art, 

 now in his possession, which has already cost !?600,000 and to which he proposes 

 to add almost as much more and to construct for housing it a hall costing §500,000, 

 upon condition that all the expense and responsibility for its care and mainte- 

 nance shall he provided, are of the opinion that it would be well for the Board of 

 Regents to consider such a proposition in sympathy with the l)road and cultivated 

 spirit in which it is made; but as it is presented only as a statement of a conversa- 

 tion with Mr. Freer, it is requested by the committee that Secretary Langley com- 

 municate with Mr. Freer and suggest to him that he put in more precise form his 

 views and his wishes, so that the action which the committee may recommend to 

 the Board shall be such as will exactly set forth ]Mr. Freer's purposes and be given 

 the careful consideration appropriate to such an enduring benefaction. 



To this letter the following reply was i-eceivcd: 



DETKorr, Mich., Deceuihcr 27, 1904. 



S. P. Langley, Esq., 



Secretary Smithsimicni. Imtitution, Washington, 1). C: 

 Dear Sir: In replying to your kind letter of the 16th instant, and in further 

 reference to the conversation had with you on March 24 last, I beg to say that my 

 permanent collections consist of the following art objects, namely: 



By Jajies McNeill Whistler: 



100 framed paintings in oil, water-color, and pastel. 

 60 unframed drawings in pencil and water color. 

 150 lithographs. 

 575 etchings. 



The entire decorations of the Peacock Room. 

 By D. W. Tryon, T. W. Dewing, and A. H. Thayer: 



50 framed paintings in oil, water-color, and pastel. 

 By various masters of Chinese and Japanese schools of painting, beginning with the 

 tenth century and ending with the nineteenth century, including specimens by 

 Ririomin, Sesshiu, Sesson, Motonobu, Tanyu, Koyetsu, Sotatsu, Korin, Kenzan, 

 Hoitsu, Okio, Hokusai, and various other masters: 

 400 kakemono, many of which are in pairs. 

 80 screens, many of which are in pairs. 

 30 panels. 

 By various potters of the Far East and Central Asia, including Chinese, Japanese, 

 Coreans, Persians, Arabians, and others as yet unidentified: 

 950 pieces of pottery. 

 Also a small group of ancient Chinese and Japanese bronzes, a few early Japanese 

 and Corean wood-carvings, and some lacquer by Koyetsu, Korin, and Ritsuwo. 



These several collections include specimens of very widely separated periods of 

 artistic development, beginning before the bii'th of Christ and ending to-day. 



No attempt has been made to secure specimens from unsympathetic sources, my 

 collecting having been confined to American and Asiatic schools. My great desire 

 has been to unite modern work with masterpieces of certain periods of high civiliza- 

 tion, harmonious in spiritual and physical suggestion, having the power to broaden 

 festhetic culture and the grace to elevate the human mind. 



These collections I desire to retain during my life for the enjoyment of students, 

 my friends, and myself, and for the further purpose of making additions and improve- 

 ments from time to time. Believing that good models only should be used in 

 artistic construction, I wish to continue my censorship, aided by the best expert 



