32 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1907.. 
the National Gallery on the part of a distinguished collector, was 
the donation by Mr. William T. Evans, of Montclair, N. J., of 52 
paintings in oil by American artists of established reputation. No 
space was available for the installation of this really exceptional 
collection in the buildings of the Institution or Museum, and, through 
the courtesy of the trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the paint- 
ings have been temporarily hung in that gallery. 
With a view to providing space for the National Gallery for a 
period of years and until a proper building is secured, I have 
included in the estimates for the coming fiscal year an item for 
adapting the large second story of the main part of the Smithsonian 
building, a hall 200 feet long and about 50 feet wide, for this purpose. 
It will require some changes to make it suitable for the hanging of 
pictures, and improvements must be made in the approaches, which 
are now inconvenient for the public. I trust that Congress may see 
its way to grant this appropriation at its forthcoming session. 
The tender of the deposit of 13 paintings by Edward Moran, illus- 
trating American history, made by Mr. Theodore Sutro, of New 
York, was accepted, and in September, 1907, this interesting histor- 
ical collection was hung on screens especially built for the purpose. 
The responsibility assumed by the Institution for the nation in 
bringing together a worthy gallery of art has created widespread 
interest and comment in magazines and journals on the part of artists 
and art critics and with hardly an exception has been cordially re- 
ceived. The Institution recognizes the deep responsibility entailed 
by this new movement and fully appreciates that the art world and the 
public have a right to expect that the future gallery shall be worthy 
of the nation. Mr. Rathbun has taken deep interest in the promotion 
of the gallery and has given a great amount of personal attention to 
it, and Mr. W. H. Holmes, a member of the staff, and himself a pro- 
fessional artist, has given valuable advice in the matter of selection 
and installation. It will of course be a considerable time before the 
Institution can command the services of a staff experienced in the fine 
arts. But there seems to be no reason why the principles which have 
for years guided the Institution in administering upon scientific mat- 
ters should not be applied with equal success to the fine arts. The 
Secretaries have never relied exclusively upon their own judgment, 
nor even upon the judgment of the very able staff, to pass upon 
scientific memoirs or to administer funds for scientific purposes, but 
they have been aided by committees composed of the most distin- 
guished specialists throughout the country. Hardly a single scien- 
tific man through the course of more than half a century has ever 
declined to act upon such a committee, and it would seem feasible to 
carry out the suggestion informally made to the Board of Regents by 
Mr. Rathbun nearly a year ago, that the acceptance of paintings and 
