REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 29 



Dr. Walter Hough, curator of ethnology, was made acting head 

 curator of the department of anthropology upon Dr. Holmes's 

 resignation. 



On April 31, 1921, the final work in the construction of the build- 

 ing for the Freer collections was completed, and the structure was 

 formally transferred to the Smithsonian Institution, being accepted 

 on May 3, 1921, just four years and seven months after ground was 

 broken for its erection. That results were not reached earlier, as 

 was anticipated at the beginning, was largely due to unforeseen 

 delays incident to the war, but the work was at all times conducted 

 with that deliberation and attention to details necessary to stability 

 and permanency of structure — and these, it is believed, have been 

 obtained. Planned with special reference to accommodating a col- 

 lection whose various units were known, and of affording unusual 

 facilities for study and research, the building is an object of art in 

 itself, and is bound to become a mecca for art lovers from all over 

 the world. Under the officer in charge of public buildings and 

 grounds driveways and walks were constructed leading to the Freer 

 Gallery, and the land immediately surrounding it was seeded and 

 has now been brought up to the standard of the balance of the 

 Smithsonian Reservation. During the summer and autumn of 1920 

 the remaining portions of the Freer collections were brought to 

 Washington from Detroit and stored in the building. The work of 

 unpacking and installing the specimens was begun in the late autumn 

 under the able direction of Miss Katharine N. Rhoades, who had 

 been associated with Mr. Freer in their care for several years. It is 

 anticipated that some time must elapse before the exhibits are all 

 in readiness and the halls can be opened to visitors, as there is a great 

 amount of critical study necessary before the objects can be accu- 

 rately labeled and classified. 



In December, 1920, Mr. John E. Lodge, curator of the department 

 of Chinese and Japanese art in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 

 was appointed curator of the Freer Gallery and placed in charge. 

 The -Freer Gallery is being administered as an independent unit of 

 the National Gallery of Art, but the- heating, lighting, and guarding 

 of the building continue to be carried on in connection with the 

 National Museum system, since the Freer Gallery is dependent upon 

 the Museum plant for heat, light, and power. 



By the opening to the public of the Aircraft Building, on October 

 7, 1920, the Museum added about 14,000 square feet of floor space to 

 its exhibition halls. This metal structure, erected by the War De- 

 partment on the Smithsonian Reservation in 1917 for the use of the 

 United States Signal Service, was transferred to the custody of the 

 Smithsonian after the close of the war. In it has been assembled 



