April 1 



Visit: Bernadette Chirac, wife of the premier of France, along with her guests, 

 became the first official visitor to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. They were 

 accompanied through the new museum, which was still under construction, by Dr. and 

 Mrs. Arthur M. Sackler and Milo Beach, assistant director. 



April 1-5 



International Program: The National Associates Lecture and Seminar Program visited 

 Toronto, Canada, for the first time. The program offered a series of events to 

 celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Royal Ontario Museum. 



April 2 



Exhibition: "The Art of Henry Inman" opened at the National Portrait Gallery. 



April 3 



Groundbreaking: At the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, construction of the 

 Earl S. Tupper Research and Conference Center began. Groundbreaking ceremonies were 

 attended by Panama President Eric A. Delvalle, other government officials, and 

 representatives of educational and scientific organizations, including Glenn Tupper 

 and Gladys Liddy of the Earl S. Tupper Foundation, which made the facility possible 

 through its donation to the institute. 



April 8 



Benefit: A dinner dance, organized by the Decorative Arts Association of the Cooper- 

 Hewitt Museum, was held in honor of Mrs. Virgil Sherrill and her firm, McMillen, Inc., 

 one of the oldest interior design firms in New York, for their contributions to the 

 development of design in this century. Funds raised by the event will support the 

 acquisition of important decorative art objects for the museum's permanent 

 collection. 



April 8 



Reception: Contributing Members in Topeka, Kansas, were invited to a special 

 reception following the National Associates Lecture and Seminar Program performance 

 "The Old Ship of Zion: Afro-American Gospel Music, 1755-1986," by Horace Clarence 

 Boyer. 



April 10 



Publications: The first issue of Smithsonian Studies in American Art, a new 

 semiannual journal examining a wide spectrum of the nation's visual heritage, was 

 published by Oxford University Press in association with the National Museum of 

 American Art. This year also saw the inauguration of the Library of American Art 

 series— published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in association with the National Museum of 

 American Art. 



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