Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-09
Suit Brought for Possession of
Art Collection
DISPOSED OF BY WILL
PART OF MRS. HARRIET LANE
JoHNsToN7s ESTATE
United States Government Contends
That Necessary National Gallery
Exists AZ Expressed in Will.

President Roosevelt has directed the De-
partment OF Justice to claim for the United
States government the rare art collection
Of the late Mrs Harriet Lane Johnston. To
this end United States Attorney D. w.
Baker has filed suit in the Supreme Court
Of the District Of Columbia to determine
ownership and the matter will probably
come up for final settlement next week.
District Attorney Baker in his bill claims
that the United States Is entitled to the
collection under the will Of Mrs. Johnston
and that the Corcoran Gallery Of Art which
declined to accept the care Of the collection
under provisions of the will, was a little
premature as the gallery at no time had a
legal right to the collection, even for a
short space of time.
To Corcoran Gallery Of Art.
In codicil to the WILL OF Mrs. Johnston.
dated June 1. 1895. she bequeathed her art
collection to the Corcoran Gallery Of Art
under the following conditions:
Provided that the articles hereby be-
queathed to the trustees Of the Corcoran
GALLERY Of Art and their successors. shall be
kept together in a room, provided for the
purpose. In the Corcoran Gallery of Art
and to be designated as The Marriet Lane
Johnston collection the place Of deposit to
De selected and approved by Mr.. Ralph C.
johnson and Mr.. Blakeslee of New York;
and provided further that in the event that
the government OF the United States shall
establish In the city Of Washington a. ma
tional art gallery, that the said articles
shall upon the establishment of said ma
tional art gallery. be. by the said trustees
OF the Corcoran Gallery of Art and their
successors, delivered to the said national
art gallery. and upon such delivery shall
become the absolute property of the said
national art gallery established by the
Should this bequest be not accepted by
the trustees Of the Corcoran Gallery Of
Ort under the terms above stated or for
any reason fail, then such of said articles
as are. by my will dated June 1, 1895, spe-
officially disposed Of. shall follow the dis
position made in my said will of june 1,
1880, and those not otherwise disposed of
are to be sold at private sale by my exec
utors. which sale shall be conducted under
the supervision of Mr.. BlakesIee Of New
York, and the proceeds thereof shall be-
come part Of the general residue of my
estate and follow the disposition of sucn
general residue made in my said will of
June !. 1895"
Provisions Of Additional Codicil.
In this codicil Mrs johnson did not make
a condition for a separate building but in
an additional codIcil she made the follow
Ing provision: That the said trustees of
the Corcoran Gallery of Art shall build an
,,
by the said Mr.. Blakeslee. or should he not
be living or should he decline to act, then
to be approved by my executors. which said
annex shall not be provided with any means
for artificial heat and shall be so con-
Structed and arranged as to protect, as far
as possible, from the heat Of summer the
articles therein deposited. My reason for
this condition is that many of the said pic
lures bequeathed to the said trustees of the
Corcoran Gallery OF Art are of a character
to become cracked and ultimately ruined IL
deposited in place subject to the heat
ordinarily maintained IN said art gallery
and are such as require. for their preserva-
ton, to be kept in a depository OF low tenn
perature: and 1t is my belief that If a suit
able annex. as above described, be pro-
vided the said trustees will be the recip-
tents of other gifts of valuable paintings
which the owners would be unwilling to
have deposited in the present gallery SUBJ
ject to the thermal conditions there exist
ing"
1t was under the latter codicil that the
Corcoran Gallery Of Art declined to accept
the beQuest. The managers of the gallery
felt that they could not take the chance
of constructing a building with the pros
pect of having to give up the collection to
the government at some date in the future
Governments Contention.
1t Is the contention Of the government
that at the time of the death of Mrs. John
son the United States government had
ana rOr long time had had a national
gallery OF art in the Smithsonian Institu-
ton. It is set forth in the petition pre-
sented by District Attorney Baker that the
Corcoran Gallery Of Art had no legal right
to even consider the bequest Of Mrs
Johnson.
1t is stated that on August 10, 1s46. Con-
gress authorized the establishment Of the
Smithsonian Institution and that provision
was made for the maintenance of art COL
lections, including paintings, etchings, en-
cravings. carvings and any other articles
that might properly come under the head
Of art collections. That the institution has a
gallery Of art, which is said to be thorough
ly national In character that 1t contains
many portraits, etchings, engravings, etc.
1t is stated further in the petition that there
is room in the national gallery for the Har-
riet Lane Johnson collection, and the court
Is asked to so construe that part of the will
of Mrs Johnson as will direct that the art
collection be turned over to the United
States government that 1t may be placed
in the national gallery of art" in the
Smithsonian Institution, where the President
and the Department Of Justice claim It
properly belongs.
Attached to the petition of District At
torney Baker is an affidavit from Prof. s..
P. Langley substantiatng all the claims OF
the attorney for the government
The case was heard before Justice Stafford
OF the supreme Court Of the District Of
Columbia, and he ordered that further hear
Ing be had and testimony taken In the