Part of the GeUatly collection, 

 looking north in Hall 10, 

 post- 193 3 and pre- 1948. 

 The center piece is now the 

 desk of the director of the 

 National Museum of 

 American Art. 



partment head. He was also the curator of prehistoric 

 archeology, for all department heads held other posi- 

 tions and were expected to continue their research. 

 Holmes was responsible for the founding in 1902 of 

 the Division of Physical Anthropology, which brc^ught 

 Ales Hrdlicka to the Mtiseum staff. That same year. 

 Secretary Langley called Holmes away from the Mu- 

 seum to be chief of the Smithsonian's separate Bureau 

 of American Ethnology; Holmes continued his work as 

 curator of prehistoric archeology. Starting in August 

 1906, his new title as curator of the National Gallery 

 added to his many duties, although not to his salary. 

 In July 1909 Holmes relinquished his position as chief 

 of the Bureau of American Ethnology in order to re- 

 sume the head curatorship of the Department of An- 

 thropology. 



It took a long time for a National Gallery of Art to 

 be officially recognized by Gongress, but on July 1, 

 1920, Holmes became the full-time head of this new 

 Smithsonian bureau. His name disappeared from the 

 annual reports of the National Museum, and the De- 

 partment of Anthropology was run by Walter Hough. 

 Holmes kept the same office on the Gonstitution Av- 

 enue side of the Museum building, just to the east of 

 the elevators, that he had occupied as head of the De- 

 partment of Anthropology. 



Holmes made a determined effort to establish a real 

 art gallery, writing articles and creating committees of 

 support, and by 1923 space had been reserved on the 



Mall for a major new building. A design contest was 

 won by Eero Saarinen, who later designed the terminal 

 at Dulles International Airport, but his plans were voted 

 down by the regents as too modern. 



Unfortunately, all efforts to obtain construction funds 

 from Gongress collapsed when rumors began to cir- 

 culate that Andrew Mellon might donate a building for 

 an art gallery. This was a setback to Holmes, for al- 

 though nothing came of this rumor during his lifetime, 

 it effectively stopped all other public support. By 1930 

 the gallery staff consisted of only himself and three 

 assistants. In 1926 his left leg had to be amputated, but 

 Holmes returned to his office. A few years later he was 

 permitted to take a Givil Service examination and to 

 continue on the government payroll long after most 

 employees retire. On June 30, 1932, the day when 

 Holmes finally did retire, he wrote in his "Random 

 Records": "In his 85th year he is still at his desk in the 

 National Gallery of Art."' Ruel P. Tolman succeeded 

 him; ten months later Holmes was dead. 



Andrew Mellon's Offer 



Eventually Andrew Mellon did offer the nation both 

 money and paintings for a National Gallery of Art. This 

 resulted in the impressive domed building that stretches 

 from fourth to Seventh streets on Gonstitution Avenue, 

 vaguely resembling the Natural History Building but 

 built of light marble rather than somber granite. To 

 make sure that nothing complicated the offer from 



The Naiiunal Gallery of Art 



43 



