528 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1919. 
The valuable collection of painting and art objects bequeathed by 
Mrs. Harriet Lane Johnston in 1903 to the National Gallery of Art 
afforded an opportunity quickly appreciated by Mr. Rathbun, who, 
recognizing its importance, began at once to plan for the building 
up of a great national art gallery. In 1904 the Freer collection, with 
its unique specimens of Whistler's art work, was tendered and ac- 
cepted by the Institution, and in 1907 William T. Evans began his 
gifts of selected paintings by contemporary American artists, which 
number more than 150 canvases and an equal number of other art 
objects. With these and other gifts the National Gallery of Art has 
" attained a prominence that has brought world-wide recognition." 
A permanent record of this development has been left by Mr. Rath- 
bun in Bulletin No. 70 of the United States National Museum, under 
the title of " The National Gallery of Art, Department of Fine Arts 
of the National Museum," ^° a volume remarkable for its artistic 
appearance, to every detail of which he gave his personal attention. 
His natural taste for research and his tendency to go to the bot- 
tom of things led him to make elaborate studies on the collections, 
and he has left behind him a valuable series of notes from which 
the future historians will find little that is lacking concerning the 
early history of the Museum. At times interesting developments 
presented themselves, and as typical of those his last important 
publication may be cited. It was "The Columbian Institute for 
the Promotion of Arts and Sciences, a Washington society of 1816- 
1838, which established a museum and botanic garden under Gov- 
ernment patronage" (pp. 1-85), which was published as No. 101 of 
the bulletin series of the National Museum in 1917. 
Subsequent to the death of Secretary Langley, in February, 1906, 
and until the election of his successor a year later, Mr. Rathbun 
served as acting secretary, and frequently during the absence of 
Secretary Walcott the guidance of the affairs of the parent institu- 
tion was intrusted to Mr. Rathbun as acting secretary. 
His bibliography numbers nearly 100 titles, and, in addition to 
those already mentioned, he was the author of various scientific 
papers contributed to the serial publications of the Fish Commis- 
sion and the National Museum, as well as a few biographies of 
friends and colleagues, such as Charles F. Hartt and Jerome H. 
Kidder; several popular articles contributed to current literature; 
and a series of official reports, of which notably those of the National 
Museum are conspicuous evidences of his patient industry. 
Intense devotion to duty was a striking trait of Mr. Rathbun's 
character, and so, absorbed in the details of his various activities, 
" First ed., 1909, pp. 1-140, pis. 1-26 ; 2d ed., 1916, pp. 1-189. 
