Chapter 5 



The National 

 Gallery of Art 



ALTHOUGH ART MAY SEEM INCONGRUOUS with nat- 

 ural history, it did play a significant role in the 

 history of the Museum and its buildings. Just as much 

 as the National Museum, the National Gallery of Art 

 was a creature of circumstance. In 1903 Harriet Lane 

 Johnston, niece of President Buchanan, left an impor- 

 tant collection to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Wash- 

 ington, with the proviso that it be transferred to a na- 

 tional gallery of art, should one be established. Because 

 of certain requirements of the bequest, the Corcoran 

 Gallery declined the Johnston collection. 



The Smithsonian had acquired some etchings, paint- 

 ings, and sculptures in the early days of Joseph Henry's 

 regime, and while much of the material had been lent, 

 works of art had always been on display in the Castle. 

 So, with a number of paintings in the Johnston collec- 

 tion essentially available for the asking, the lawyers de- 

 cided that the Smithsonian Institution, with its open- 

 ended charter, ivas the national gallery of art; the name 

 was acquired through this friendly court suit.' To im- 

 plement the will, a National Gallery of Art was estab- 

 lished within the administrative structure of the Na- 

 tional Museum.-' Somehow space was found for paintings 

 and art objects to be placed on display in the brick 

 building of the National Museum in the fall of 1906. 

 This action did ensure that legally there was a National 

 Gallery, though the jumbled surroundings were far 

 from inspiring. 



Since art works continued to be shown in the Castle, 

 a logical next step would have been to refurbish part 

 of the Castle as an art gallery. As the new National 

 Museum building neared completion, the National Gal- 

 lery's first curator wrote: "The new building ... in 

 accordance with the understanding with Congress, has 

 been planned and constructed for the great collections 



Woodm pillars from the John Gellatly bequest, surmounted 

 by candle-carrying angels. The chest in the center supports 

 a wooden frame in which various stained-glass windows are 

 exhibited. The totem pole looming over the display indicates 

 that this is near the south side of Hall 10, facing south 

 toward the rotunda. Post-1933 . 



of natural history — geology, zoology, botany, ethnol- 

 ogy, and archeology. It has neither the room, nor the 

 proper lighting for paintings."' But Congress did not 

 see the situation quite the same way, and no money was 

 appropriated for construction in the Castle. 



The new Museum, as noted, did not have proper 

 lighting, but it did have room, and the center skylighted 

 hall of the north wing was given over to art. The pic- 

 tures were installed between "some of the more inter- 

 esting ethnological groups and historical exhibits"' — 

 that is, the Indians to the west in Hall 9 and the Oriental 

 civilizations to the east in Hall 8. It was an uncomfort- 

 able alliance. For lack of a better display area, a mis- 

 cellaneous lot of statuary was placed in the ambulatory 

 around the rotunda, and some pieces were stationed 

 in the ground-floor lobby. Later, the walls on the second 

 floor of the rotunda were hung with paintings that 

 could not possibly blend with the mounted animal heads 

 that decorated the two stairwells. The admixture gives 

 an excellent example of the National Museum's being 

 one concept and the Natural History Building's being 

 another. 



This sounds entirely negative, but the other side of 

 the coin is that Hall 10 in the center of the north wing 

 was the first Museum display to be installed. Although 

 it is not easy to hang an art exhibit, it is infinitely faster 

 than installing a natural history display. In the final 

 analysis, as poorly suited as the building was for art, 

 the National Gallery must have been a godsend to As- 

 sistant Secretary Rathbun, enabling him to open some 

 exhibits in a relatively short time. 



Formal Opening 



On March 17, 1910, from noon until five in the after- 

 noon, the National Gallery of Art, and thus the new 

 Natural History Building, was formally opened to the 

 ptiblic. "Admission was by card, partly to prevent undue 

 crowding, and partly to bring the event specially to the 

 attention of Congress, the official body in Washington, 

 and all other persons known to be interested in the 

 promotion of art at the Nation's Capital."' On Friday, 

 March 18, the building was open to the public, and 



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