38 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949 
who saw them during the time the paintings were on exhibition at the 
National Gallery of Art in Washington. 
CUSTODY OF GERMAN SILVER 
On January 7, 1949, the Gallery returned to the Department of the 
Army for transport to Germany the 44 sealed cases containing silver- 
ware and glassware and belonging to the Hohenzollern family. The 
cases had been stored in the Gallery since April 11, 1947. 
CUSTODY OF WHITE HOUSE FURNITURE 
On November 24, 1948, the Gallery accepted custody of certain 
items of paintings, sculpture, and furniture belonging to the White 
House for storage in the building until the repairs to the White House 
are completed. 
Shipments of these items started on December 3, 1948, and con- 
tinued for several days thereafter. At the present time there are 76 
works of art—paintings and sculpture—stored in the Gallery’s storage 
rooms and 25 vanloads of furniture stored in the packing space on the 
main floor. 
The necessary arrangements for fire prevention, inspection, and 
fumigation have been established and are being carried out. 
NEW CONSTRUCTION 
During the past fiscal year, the Committee on the Building approved 
the construction in the southwest moat of a small workroom for the 
use of the gardening staff in maintaining and growing certain plants 
for the garden courts and landscaping. Later, when funds become 
available, it is planned to construct two small greenhouses adjacent 
to this workroom. 
The growth of the Gallery’s collections of works of art has been so 
rapid that all available exhibition space is now being utilized. As a 
matter of fact there are already several paintings which cannot be ex- 
hibited because there is no space in the present galleries. For this 
reason the Committee on the Building recommended that, to take care 
of the most urgent needs, the unfinished spaces 61-66 and 68-70, on 
the main floor, be completed as soon as funds are available. These 
galleries will be used for new acquisitions of paintings in the American 
and British schools and will also make possible some rearrangement in 
galleries already finished so as to make available additional space 
therein. 
The Committee on the Building also recommended that the so-called 
copyists’ room be finished to furnish office space for the Educational 
Department, which is now operating in rather cramped quarters. 
Funds have been generously made available from private sources to 
complete this work, and contracts have been entered into with Eggers 
