REPORT OF THE SECRETARY H 



I 



EltECTION OF THE NATIONAL GAIiERY OF AKT 



In accordance with the provisions of said joint resolution of the Congress, 

 the Institution hereby permits the donor to construct, and the donor hereby 

 agrees to construct for the Institution, a building to be designated and herein- 

 after referred to as the "National Gallery of Art" v;pon the area bounded by 

 Seventh Street, Constitution Avenue, Fourth Street, and North Mall Drive, 

 N. W., in the District of Columbia (being the site appropriated to the Institu- 

 tion by said joint resolution), and to remove any existing structure and to land- 

 scape the grounds within said area, all in accordance with plans and specifica- 

 tions approved by the Commission of Fine Arts. The building line and plans of 

 approaches for said building shall be approved by the National Capital Park 

 and Planning Commission. The donor, in its uncontrolled discretion but at its 

 sole expense, shall engage such architects, contractors, builders, and others, and 

 shall take or cause to be taken any and every other action necessary or ad- 

 visable in connection with the construction, completion, equipment, and furnish- 

 ing of said building, and the landscaping of said area upon which it is erected. 

 The donor shall pay all costs and expenses in connection with, or incident to, 

 said project. In no event and under no circumstances shall the Institution or 

 the trustees be responsible or liable for any part of such cost or expense, and 

 the donor shall indemnify and save harmless the Institution and the trustees 

 from any and every liability whatsoever with refei'ence to anything done or 

 omitted to be done in connection with the carrying out of said project or any 

 part thereof. The Institution and the trustees are expressly relieved of any 

 responsibility or duty pertaining to said project, and the entire and exclusive 

 jurisdiction and responsibility thereover and with regard thereto are imposed 

 upon and vested in the donor. Said project shall be commenced as soon after 

 the execution and delivery hereof as, in the judgment of the donor, the necessary 

 plans, specifications, and arrangements can be made and effected, and will be 

 proceeded with as expeditiously as, in the judgment of the donor, the execution 

 of the work can properly be effected, but as the building is of monumental char- 

 acter and is intended to have outstanding architectural merit, it is agreed that 

 undue haste is not desirable, and no time for the final completion of the project 

 can be fixed. As and when said project shall be finally completed by the con- 

 struction, equipment, and furnishing of said building and the landscaping of 

 said area in accordance with said plans and specifications, the donor will give 

 written notice thereof to the Institution and the trustees and thereupon, with- 

 out further action by any of the parties hereto, the legal title to said building 

 shall be deemed to be vested in the Institution, but the maintenance and ad- 

 ministration of said building and of the site shall be vested exclusively in, and 

 shall be the sole obligation and duty of, the trustees as a separate bureau of 

 the Institution, and distinct from the other activities of the Institution, which 

 are under the management of its Board of Regents. 



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NAME OF GAULEET 



Said gallery shall be known and designated perpetually as the "National 

 Gallery of Art", to which the entire public shall forever have access, subject 

 only to reasonable regulations from time to time established by the trustees. 



