THE FREER GALLERY OF ART 
“That Mr. Freer was not permitted to see the consum¬ 
mation of his plans for the development of the art interests 
of the country is greatly deplored. His experience and 
advice would be invaluable in inaugurating this independ¬ 
ent unit of the National Gallery of Art which he so 
generously provided. The building and collections rep¬ 
resent an outlay of some six or seven million dollars and 
constitute one of the most important and valued dona¬ 
tions which any individual has ever made freely and un¬ 
conditionally to the Nation.” 
It is indeed most regrettable that Mr. Freer, having 
first wished to retain his collections during his lifetime 
and later having decided with great unselfishness that 
they should be placed at once where they would be readily 
available to all, should not have lived to see the fruition 
of his generosity and the enjoyment and benefit which 
thousands yearly now derive from his gift to America. 
Work on the building went forward, however, and in 
June, 1921, the Institution formally accepted it from the 
architect, Mr. Platt. The Freer collection had already 
begun to arrive in Washington from the executors of the. 
estate in the November preceding, and on June 15, 1921, 
receipt in full was acknowledged by the Smithsonian of 
the entire collection. The appointment of Mr. John 
Ellerton Lodge as Curator had already been announced, 
and assisted by Miss Grace D. Guest and Miss Katha¬ 
rine N. Rhoades, he entered at once upon the difficult 
task of classifying, cataloguing, and installing the great 
collection. 
This work occupied the greater part of two years, and 
in 1923, during the week of May 2, the Freer Gallery 
of Art was formally opened to the public. This date 
will in the future be looked upon as a milestone in the 
progress of art in America. There was now in Wash¬ 
ington, as a unit of the National Gallery of Art, an un¬ 
rivaled collection of American and Oriental art, as¬ 
sembled with a definite purpose and a definite ideal, 
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