National Art Gallery 
Here to Eclipse All 
Collections in America 
Plans are under way to make Wash¬ 
ington the home of a. National Gal¬ 
lery of Art, Government fostered, and 
'the finest in the new world. 
The Freer building of the Smith¬ 
sonian Institution designed to hold 
exhibits of the Oriental, will be fin¬ 
ished by September, according to an 
announcement of Dr. Charles D. Wal¬ 
cott, secretary of the institution. 
Work on the building, stopped during 
the war, but has been resumed. 
This., building is being given to the 
National Art Museum by Charles L. 
Freer, of Detroit. Mr. Freer has 
been an ardent collector of Oriental 
art masterpieces tor more than twen¬ 
ty-five. years, and the Freer building 
is to be devoted to Oriental art. Mr. 
Freer’s collection of 6,200 pieces has 
already been deeded to the gallery, 
and will be housed in the new build¬ 
ing when finished. 
Dr. Walcott said the fine collec¬ 
tions of American and European art 
owned by the gallery will have to re¬ 
main in the Old National Museum, 
since the Freer building was do¬ 
nated specifically for the housing of 
Oriental art specimens. The Old Na¬ 
tional Mufeeum, intended for histori¬ 
cal exhibits, is greatly crowded, but 
Dr. Walcott hopes additional space 
will be granted it before long. 
Bill For Relief. 
■A bill introduced in the House a few 
days ag,o by Representative Frederick 
D. Hicks, of New York, promises to 
give the needed relief. 
This bill provides for the erection 
of a museum of history and arts, at 
a cost not to exceed $5,000,000, in 
memory of Theodore Roosevelt. The 
memorial building is to be erected, 
administered, and equipped by the re¬ 
gents of the Smithsonian Institution. 
The location proposed in the bill is j 
.on the north side of the Mall, be¬ 
tween Seventh and Tenth streets 
northwest. The bill was referred to 
the Committee on Public Buildings 
and Grounds and probably will come 
'p again in the fall. 
not merely to the artistic, but to the 
material welfare of the country; and 
the people are to be congratulated on 
the fact that the movement to estab¬ 
lish such a gallery is taking definite 
fdrm under the guidance of the Smith¬ 
sonian Institution. So far from thers 
being a tariff on works of art brought 
into the country, their importation 
should be encouraged in every way. 
There have been no sufficient col¬ 
lections of objects of art by the Gov¬ 
ernment, and what collections have 
been acquired are scattered, and are 
generally placed in unsuitable and 
imperfectly lighted galleries.'” 
Present Home Too Small. 
The present location of the National 
Gallery of Art is one with admirable 
lighting facilities, but 'the wall ca¬ 
pacity of 1,100 running feet is not ade¬ 
quate for the needs of the collections 
already possessed by the institution, 
and much less for the additions it is 
hoped will be made in the next few 
years. 
.The first collection acquired by 
Smithsonian was a number of Indian 
portraits painted by Charles B. King 
and several others, and busts of nota¬ 
bles, including examples by Thor- 
waldsen, Merlieux, Pettrich and Mills. 
Soon after the Marsh collection of 
prints, the most noteworthy collec¬ 
tion of its kind that had reached this 
country up to that time, was pur¬ 
chased by the regents. 
Impetus, which has steadily in¬ 
creased in momentum, was added to 
the National Gallery of Art by the 
bequest of Harriet Lane Johnston in 
1903. The trustees of the bequest re¬ 
fused to complete the transfer until 
the status of the gallery was made 
clear by a decision of the court. This 
led to the passage of the act found¬ 
ing th,e institution. 
» 
[ Now Have 315 Paintings. 
Soon after this official establish¬ 
ment of. the gallery, William T. 
Evans made a g’ift to the gallery of 
nearly a hundred paintings. There 
are at present 315 paintings in the 
gallery in the Old National Museum, 
the collection having been augmented 
lately by several minor donations 
and loans of paintings and statuary. 
The Freer gift stands out as a 
unique episode in the history of the 
world of art. In making the gift of 
$1,000,000 (the gift originally amount¬ 
ing to $500,000, but Mr. Freer doubled 
it later) and several thousand paint¬ 
ings, forming an almost priceless col¬ 
lection, Mr. Freer reserved the right 
to add to the collection still further 
during his lifetime. Hence there is 
no way of knowing to what propor¬ 
tions it will grow. Although an espe¬ 
cial devotee of Oriental art, Mr. Freer 
is a great admirer of Whistler, and it 
is hoped that he will enrich the gal¬ 
lery to a still greater extent by a 
representative Whistler collection. 
The collection of drawings, eighty- 
two in number, presented to the 
American people by the people of 
France in recognition of the part 
taken by America in the war with 
Germany, is also a notable possession 
of the gallery. 
Among valuable works gained in 
recent years, a remarkable collection 
of paintings by English masters, lent 
by Ralph Cross Johnson, takes first 
rdnk. The Sutro collection of thir¬ 
teen historical marine subjects, by 
Edward Moran, has been lent by Theo¬ 
dore Sutro. Collections of paintings 
by F. Ward Denys, W. (A. Slater, the 
National Association of Portrait 
Painters, the American Federation oi 
Art, and many others have been ac¬ 
quired lately. 
■mnt 
Space Question Serious. 
The question of space for the Na¬ 
tional Gallery of Art is a pressing 
one, Dr. Walcott declared. Already 
the institution has suffered because 
private collectors are not willing-to 
give their collections to it until the 
regents can assure them adequate 
housing facilities. Several collections, 
have already gone to the Metropoli¬ 
tan Museum of Art in New York for 
this reason. 
The initiation of the art gallery! 
movement in Washington is credited * 
to an organization called the National 
Institute, which was incorporated in 
1842 by act of Congress. Due to the 
activities of this organization, nu¬ 
merous paintings were collected, I 
many of which are now to be found 
on the walls of the National Gallery. 
These collections were placed in the 
United States Patent Office, with the 
provision that they become the prop¬ 
erty of the United States upon the 
dissolution of the society. The civil 
war brought this about in 1861. Much 
of the collection was destroyed by a 
fire which burned out the principal 
halls of the institution during the ! 
war. 
Ruosevelt Mentions Need. 
In his message to Congress, Deeem-! 
ber 3, 1907. President Roosevelt called 
attention to the need for a national 
gallery of art. The President said; 
“There should be a national gallery 
of art established in the Capital City 
of this country. This is important. 
