38 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1920. 



FREES COLLECTIONS. 



It is with regret that I have to record the death of Charles Lang 

 Freer in New York City on September 25, 1919, at the age of 63 

 years. In 190G Mr. Freer presented to the Smithsonian Institution 

 his collections of American and Oriental art upon condition that 

 they should remain in his possession during his life, and at the same 

 time he provided in his will $500,000 for the erection by the Smith- 

 sonian Institution of a suitable building for housing them near the 

 National Museum. He reserved the right to add to the collections, 

 and in the intervening years he has about tripled the number of 

 objects originally transferred by title to the Institution. Increasing 

 the building fund to one million dollars and waiving the original 

 conditions, Mr. Freer in 1915 decided upon the early erection of the 

 structure and the transfer of the collections to Washington. That 

 Mr. Freer was not permitted to see the consummation of his plans 

 for the development of the art interests of his country is greatly de- 

 plored, as his experience and advice would be invaluable in inaugurat- 

 ing this independent unit of the National Gallery of Art which he 

 so generously provided. The building and collections represent an 

 outlay of some six or seven million dollars and constitute one of the 

 most important and valued donations which any individual has ever 

 made freely and unconditionally to the nation. 



The Building for the Freer Collections, on the southwestern corner 

 of the Smithsonian Reservation, was begun in 1910 by the Institution 

 from funds donated by Mr. Freer, and presents an exterior of pink 

 granite, with a frontage on the Mall of 228 feet, a depth of 185 

 feet and a height of 46 feet, and with an open central court about 

 65 feet square. Beautiful and effective in general design, it shows 

 in interior plan a thorough adaptation to the requirements of the 

 collections, both as to space and to lighting, with such facilities as 

 makes it practically an independent unit of the Smithsonian group. 

 Above the ground level, the structure consists only of a basement 

 and main story, the former lighted by windows, the latter principally 

 by skylights, leaving the upper part of the walls essentially un- 

 pierced except for the entrances, of which that on the north front 

 comprises three large arched openings. 



The main story will be entirely devoted to exhibition purposes 

 and is divided into 19 galleries of varying sizes reached by wide 

 corridors, each gallery designed for a particular subject or class of 

 objects. The Whistler collection will occupy five of these rooms. 

 The central court is a special feature of this story, large arched 

 openings lighting the adjoining corridors and loggias. In the base- 

 ment, which is a veil lighted story, are located large studios (or 

 study rooms), rooms for the storage of such parts of the collections 

 as are not on exhibition, a lecture hall, an office for the curator, 

 and work and comfort rooms, furnishing in fact all necessarv con- 



