18 
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 
segregated according to their classification, a considerable part 
of the specimens will be found distributed among the collections 
of history and ethnology. 
In 1896 most of the objects of art which had been deposited 
in the Corcoran Gallery and the Library of Congress were 
recalled to the Institution, in the hope of renewing interest in 
the subject, and, although the purpose in view was not imme- 
diately realized, the change proved effective in subsequent 
results. The western hall of the Smithsonian building had just 
previously been renovated and its fireproofing perfected in 
anticipation of its being required for art collections as originally 
intended, and in the year named a large room in the eastern 
wing of the same building was fitted up for the prints and art 
library. During the period from the time of the fire until the 
beginning of the present century many examples of the plastic 
arts and a few paintings were received by the Institution and 
Museum, principally as gifts, proving that there still existed a 
knowledge of the association of art with the Institution in 
at least some quarters. 
This account now reaches the present stage in the history of 
the art department. It has been seen that Congress directed 
the establishment of a museum and a gallery of art, whose 
administration was combined by the Board of Regents. Their 
function was to preserve, classify, and exhibit the national col- 
lections. The accumulation in quantity and variety of speci- 
mens of natural history and ethnology was rendered possible 
through the explorations and investigations authorized by Con- 
gress mainly for practical purposes. Art in its higher sense was 
neither helped nor encouraged, and whatever was acquired 
came from miscellaneous sources and was mostly inferior in 
character. Neither the museum nor the gallery was given a 
definite title in the fundamental act, but both were designated 
as custodians of property belonging to the nation. The name 
“National Museum,” although frequently employed in the 
earlier Smithsonian reports, was not adopted by Congress until 
1875, by which time the collections had become sufficiently 
large to justify its use. The art department, however, never 
attained to a size and character that would have entitled it to 
be called by so exalted a title. It was often referred to as the 
