A 
West W-jpg to the North Wing, since the latter has partitions 
which would make it less desirable from the standpoint of ex¬ 
hibiting murals. Mr. Goldsmith was in the office at the 
time, and he pointed out that space in the East and West 
flings was at a premium, that in the East Wing being taken up 
with exhibits which could not be moved. He indicated also 
that in the West Wing there were some permanent eases, espe¬ 
cially the deer group which could not be moved, and that there 
was also a considerable number of wall cases which could not 
be moved. 
A hurried survey of the lest Wing indicates that per¬ 
manent cases here included the buffalo, deer, and moose cases 
in the center of the Wing and the goat and sheep cases on the 
walls. The distance from the Rotunda to the first permanent 
case, that including the buffalo, is about sixty-five feet, 
and I think that they will probably make application for this 
space. Should they make such application, it will bring up 
the question as to whether you would be willing to see any of 
the mammal cases moved from tnis fling, and if so, whether a 
mixture of animals and art in one ‘Wing would be a congenial 
arrangement. If no space can be spared in the West fling, I 
believe they will come back with a request for more of the 
North Wing, and if murals are to be exhibited here, it will 
certainly mean some of the partitions in the space of the 
National Gallery must come down. 
I indicated to these gentlemen that the Museum was an¬ 
xious to cooperate with them to the fullest extent possible 
as indicated in your correspondence on this subject, but that 
we had a duty to perform to the general public in maintaining 
as completely as possible the exhibits which are of interest 
to the public. It was pointed out, moreover, that our storage 
space is limited, and even admitted that certain exhibits could 
be dispensed with during the period of the Bicentennial, it 
would be necessary to find space in which they could be stored 
safely. Mr. Winters indicated that the space desired for the 
exhibits of the Academy in Rome would probably exceed that which 
is now being utilized for the Bacon exhibit in the North Wing. 
No indication has been given to me as to the relationship of 
the proposed exhibit of the Academy in Rome to the Washington 
Bicentennial, and I have avoided the subject until some expres¬ 
sion is received from you. 
Mr. Winters indicated that a meeting would be held in 
New York Monday, and that he thought as a result of this meet¬ 
ing, they would be able to give a fairly accurate estimate of 
