10 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1946 
distinguished men of science. From its early activities, bureaus grew 
up around the parent Institution—first the United States National 
Museum, then the International Exchange Service, the Bureau of 
American Ethnology, the National Zoological Park, and the Astro- 
physical Observatory. As the public value of these services became 
evident, their support was assumed in whole or in part by the 
Government, although they remained as bureaus of the Smithsonian 
Institution. 
“Tn addition to its scientific activities, the Smithsonian is charged 
in its act of foundation with responsibility for national art treasures. 
The art feature has culminated recently in the National Gallery of 
Art, given to the Nation by Andrew W. Mellon and augmented richly 
by other philanthropists. The Gallery is established as a bureau of 
the Smithsonian Institution, but is directed by a separate board of 
trustees. The earlier art interests of the Institution are included in 
the National Collection of Fine Arts and the Freer Gallery of Art. 
The latter, presented and endowed by Charles L. Freer, is devoted 
chiefly to the Oriental field, and through its highly valuable archeo- 
logical materials will figure more and more importantly in strictly 
scientific studies. 
“From one building, a small staff, and a single publication, the In- 
stitution has grown in a century until it now occupies five buildings 
on the Mall and numerous structures at the National Zoological Park, 
while it issues 14 series of publications, each devoted to a particular 
sphere.” 
As the Institution goes into the second century of its existence, its 
position is strong in some respects and weak in others. Its work in 
the increase and diffusion of knowledge over the past 100 years has 
established for it a national and international reputation among 
scholarly organizations, providing unquestioned entree into any field 
of cultural endeavor anywhere in the world. On the staffs of its 
scientific bureaus—namely, the United States National Museum, the 
Bureau of American Ethnology, and the Astrophysical Observatory— 
are highly trained specialists in several branches of science, many of 
them ranking among the leaders in their respective fields. In the 
National Museum, vast study collections in biology, geology, and 
anthropology offer unlimited opportunity for fertile investigations 
in those fields. The three bureaus of.the Institution devoted to art— 
the National Gallery of Art, the National Collection of Fine Arts, and 
the Freer Gallery of Art—all comprise splendid art collections in their 
respective fields, together forming a growing aggregation that makes 
Washington one of the world’s art centers. 
On the other side of the picture, weaknesses exist in several direc- 
tions. The collections and essential staff of the Institution and its 
