National Gallery of Art Archives: World War II Research Resources 

Wartime Security and the Biltmore Evacuation

With the onset of World War II, the trustees and administrators of the National Gallery of Art 

became concerned about the possibility of air raids on Washington. They were determined that 

the National Gallery should remain open to the public to the greatest extent possible, but they 

also recognized the need for a contingency plan that would outline emergency procedures to be 

followed in a crisis. Anticipating possible hostilities, they also established an “evacuation center” 

at Biltmore House near Asheville, North Carolina. Following the outbreak of war, the museum’s 

most valuable works of art were transferred there in January 1942.

National Gallery employees, including curators Craig Hugh Smyth, Charles Parkhurst, and Lamont 

Moore, supervised the storage and monitored the condition of the group of masterpieces 

evacuated to Biltmore. The paintings were housed in the music room of the mansion, and 

sculpture was placed in the servants’ dining room. Chief curator John Walker and consultant 

restorer Stephen Pichetto made periodic inspections to ascertain that storage conditions were 

acceptable. The works of art were returned to the museum in October 1944 as the war was 

ending.

Research Resources 

Records of the National Gallery’s air raid preparations are in the central files. These include a copy 

of the museum’s air raid procedures and drills, a map of the District of Columbia Civilian Defense 

Control Center Districts, and Federal Works Agency booklets entitled The Air Raid Protection 

Code and The Protection of Federal Buildings and Their Contents from Subversive Hostile Acts. 

The central files also contain material covering emergency defense planning at the National 

Gallery during the 1950s.

The chief curator’s files include minutes and memoranda of staff meetings in 1941 and 1942 

regarding air raid precautions considered by the museum; procedures for the removal of works of 

art from areas of the National Gallery that may become damaged or endangered because of 

bombing; and reports on the plans for police protection, firefighting, health service, and 

maintenance service in emergency situations. These records also include an original pamphlet of 

air raid instructions as well as other emergency brochures provided by the office of civilian

defense, a gas mask brochure, and information sheets describing how to deal with incendiary 

bombs and chemical agents.

Director David Finley’s files contain correspondence and memoranda about the storage of 

National Gallery paintings at Biltmore, and news clippings and memoranda concerning emergency 

storage in general. The central files also include records relating to Biltmore including curatorial 

reports; communications between curators-in-residence and officials (1942-1944); memoranda 

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describing the preparation of storage rooms; Biltmore security procedures; and correspondence 

among National Gallery officials, Judge Junius Adams (president of the Biltmore Company), and 

representatives of the Gamewell Company (makers of public alarm systems) concerning fire

protection systems.

The chief curator’s records include evacuation plans, lists of duties of National Gallery employees 

(especially Parkhurst and Smyth), lists of Biltmore shipment groups, a sample of “puffed” mica 

used as packaging material for sculpture, reports on packing and shipment, and documentation of 

sculpture evacuation. Also available is correspondence between John Walker and curators-inresidence Erwin O. Christensen and Charles Richards, as well as Charles Parkhurst, Stephen 

Pichetto, John Skilton, and other staff members involved in the maintenance of the works in 

storage, especially concerning the regulation of temperature and humidity. An article from the 

Montreal Daily Star about the evacuation of British art to an underground vault in England is

included in these files.

In oral history interviews Craig Hugh Smyth, National Gallery photographer Henry Beville, and 

John Walker discuss the Biltmore evacuation. 

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