24 
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 
files of the Museum contain unpublished letters relating to a few 
of the paintings which are of so much historical and personal 
interest that it has been thought desirable to insert them in 
their appropriate places. 
The paper is to be regarded simply as a historical account. 
It contains no comments or criticisms on the artistic merits of 
any of the objects or collections mentioned, except in a few 
cases where values are manifestly obvious. The last section of 
the paper, under the heading National Gallery of Art, may 
serve the purpose of a preliminary catalogue of that gallery, 
but it will be supplemented by another and, it is hoped, a 
more useful one as soon as the pictures can be assembled. 
