The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1906-10-20
FOR WORKS OF ART
SMITHSONIAN, ! INSTITUTION IS
= : + NATloNAL GALLERY.
Decision Recently Made Is Of Much
Importance and Means Assem-
4. bling, Of Magnificent
3 |slss' hs'es.s Art. Collections.

the District supreme court, 1t has been
determined that this country already
possesses q national art gallery. This
decision is interesting first because no
lone realized that there was such
thing as national gallery in this
country, and, second, becausei it brings
to the government and incidentally to
Washington the Harriet Lane John
ston art collection, which is intrinsic
ally valuable, very beautiful, and will
form the nucleus around which a real
national collection eventually will be
built UP. The pictures have just been
transferred to the custody of the
Smithsonian institution and will be
placed on exhibition as soon as possi-
Bile.
This decision of the court is more
important than even the transfer of
the Johnston collection would indi
cate. The Smithsonian has had an
art collection for years, and it has
slowly been growing, mostly through
gifts; but the present decision recog-
nizes it as national gallery. This
will attract more donations, and al
though the collection for the present
Will be housed in the lecture hall Of
the National museum, there will
doubtless in time be separate build
Ing erected for the art collection; and
there Is no reason why in time the ma
tional gallery in Washington should
not be quite as much center of at
traction to visitors as the National gal
lery in London.
BY the will of Harriet Lane John
| ston in 1903 her; art collection, con:
s1sttng Of 20 paintings, busts and other
objects, was left to the Corcoran art
gallery until such time as there should
be established by the United States
government national art gallery. The
! bequest to the Corcoran gallery was
accompanied by number Of conditions
such as. that the collection should be
housed In a separate room wi thout
artificial heat, and there were some
other provisions, to comply with which
would have entailed more expenditure
than the trustees felt that they were
justified in making for merely tenn.
porary collection. They therefore de-
clined the custody, and it looked for
a time as though the collection would
have to be sold and the money divided
with the estate, going principally to
the Harriet Lane Johnston Home.
President Roosevelt, who is interest
| ed in such matters, urged on congress
its duty to establish a national gallery
but It is seldom that such thing can
be done in one session and the matter
went by default. Finally the executors
of the: estate and the Smithsonian in
stitution went into court I'M a friendly
suit to determine the custody of the
pictures. Then it was that, Judge Stat
ford decided that the Smithsonian al
ready constituted national gallery.
! AS a matter of fact the formation
of an art gallery Is one of the first
4 duties of the Smithsonian under the
act creating it, and when the present
Smithsonian building was erected II
was designed with two of the biggest
rooms specially built for gallery
The act creating it says that it ''shal
have custody of objects of art, the: re
suits of curious and foreign research
This function of the institution ha:
been recognized by the regents al
along and there have been a number
of valuable objects acquired that have
more place in an art gallery than zthey
have in a museum. ss.. .>s:..s%s :
Some Of them have been turned Owe
to the temporary care of the Corcora1
gallery and some to the library O
congress; but they will ali 60 with tn,
Johnston collection toward forming
the foundation of national gallery
There are: other and more extensive
plans afoot that will help on the work
but they have not yet taken. ,of1cia
shape, but it is sufficient for the pres