EEPOKT OF THE SECEETARY. 31 



executors of the Johnston estate asked the courts for a construction 

 of the clause in the testament providing that the collection be given 

 to a national art gallery. This suit v^as filed on February 7, 1905, 

 in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, and by an order of 

 the court dated July 18, 1906, the collections were delivered to the 

 Smithsonian Institution on August 3, 1906, the court deciding that 

 there had been established by the United States of America in the 

 city of Washington a national art gallery within the meaning of 

 Harriet Lane Johnston's will. 



In 1904, Mr. Charles L. Freer, of Detroit, offered his art collection 

 to the Smithsonian Institution, under certain specified conditions, 

 and also offered to furnish the means for erecting, after his death, a 

 suitable building to receive the collection. This collection was for- 

 mally accepted by the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution in 

 1906. It includes more than 2,250 objects, including paintings in oil, 

 water color, and pastel, drawings and sketches, etchings and dry 

 points, lithographs, oriental potter}^, and other objects. 



The action of Harriet Lane Johnston and Mr. Charles L. Freer 

 called the attention of all interested in art, to the fact that there was a 

 national gallery, and that under the care of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion it was making conservative and satisfactory progress. 



In March, 1907, Mr. William T. Evans, of Montclair, New Jersey, 

 announced to the Institution his desire to contribute to the National 

 Gallery a number of paintings by contemporary American artists of 

 established reputation. In transmitting the first installment of 

 paintings, he wrote: 



I have every reason to believe that you will like my selections, but should 

 any of the examples not hold well, others can be substituted, as it is my desire 

 to have every artist represented at his best. As already intimated, I intend 

 that the present gift may not be considered as final. Additions may be made 

 from time to time as opportunities occur to secure exceptional works. 



Fifty paintings were enumerated in the list which accompanied 

 this letter. Up to June 30, 1910, Mr. Evans had presented 114 

 selected jjaintings, representing 80 artists. These, with the paintings 

 already in the possession of the Institution, bring the exhibit now 

 installed in the large hall of the new Museum building to more 

 than 160. 



The world-wide interest in the National Gallery has been increas- 

 ing rapidly during the past three years, and we believe, without ques- 

 tion, that the collections will grow quite as rapidly as facilities can 

 be provided for their proper installation and exhibition. The col- 

 lection, including the Freer collection, is particularly strong in pic- 

 tures by American artists, and it is well that it should be so, in order 

 that it may have a strong national tone. The Harriet Lane Johnston 

 collection has given the Gallery fine examples of several of the mas- 



