New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-12-05

American painting. He can give him
self UP TO q mood IL he wants to. Fur
thermore, we will suppose that he
wishes TO give all his time, for days,
perhaps, to jades or lacquers or etch-
ings. In that case he may enseonce
himself In one of the study rooms and
there In solitude linger over his hobby
az long as he likes under ideal eondi-
tons. handling object after object
drawn from the metal reeeptacles IN
which they are TO be preserved, turn
ing them about in perfect light on q
roomy table. Dir. FreeI is leaving no
detail to chance In his preparations for
this serious type Of visitor. There will
be we'll provided library, and in
charge Of the whole institution a
scholar absolutely qualified 10 give the
inquirer the help he seeks. On this
latter point there is 20 be no possibility
of failure. Mr.. Freer will beqreath 10
the Smithsonian a sum of money the
interest on which will be sufficient 20
pay such salary as first class man
must have. There will be no opening
for the amateur. The director Of the
museum will be an expert in the fullest
sense Of the tenn. -.
His services will bear fruit. The
museum will be centre o. scholarly
labor. But imagination rests with spe-
cal enjoyment on the thought OF the
shrine of sheer beauty which il prom
ises TO be. The announcement OF the
forthcoming new building made by Dr.
Charles D. Walcott, secretary OF the
Smithsonian, refers briefly TO the VIII
derness OF treasure accumulated by MI.
Freer. The Oriental part Of the col
lection, he notes, is illustrative OF the
development Of art as originated In
India and carried northward across
China and into japan. II comprises a
series Of more than 1900 paintings in
the form Of screens. panels, kakemono,
scrolls, etc; nearly 100 specimens OF
pottery. over 300 bronzes and hundreds
Of stone sculptures, jades, lacquers,
wood carvings and worries. There are
Egyptian glass. There are early Per-
sian and Indo-Persian paintings and
there are ancient Biblical manuscripts.
These Oriental objects constitute nu-
rrerically the larger part Of the collec-
ton. and. indeed. it is as an Oriental
collection that it will probably rank
amongst the museums of the world.
But to say this is in nowise 70 dis
rarage The American wing.
That. as has already been indicated,
Mr.. Freer considers as essentially at
one with his representation of Eastern
art, and his American group is of
very strong significance. 1t is com
posed of few painters, Whistler con-
spicuous among them. Mr.. freer has
62 of his oil paintings, "a Of his water
colors, 80 of his pastels and over TOO
drawings, sketches, etchings, litho-
graphs, etc. He has, besides. the ia
nous Peacock Room, and all its deco
rations, a souvenir of the painter which
will be given a gallery by itself. There
are SO examples of Thomas W. Dewing,
12 of Abbott H. Thayer, rs OF d. W.
Tryon and 4 of Winslow Homer. The
list of more than a hundred American
paintings Is completed by single works
executed respectively by John s. Sar-
gent, John II. Twachtman, Childe Has
sam, Willard L. Metcalf, Carl Melchers
and James Linden Smith. The last OF
Mr.. Freer's intentions, which | have
here TO record, has reference to this
American side Of his collection, and 1t
is, perhaps, as richly indicative as any
of the spirit in which he is carrying
out a noble idea. | asked him II he
was going TO hang every picture he
had. well" he replied, "T1l tell you
what I'm going to do. When the build
ing is all ready and the pictures are
there III get Dewing, say, to come
down. His pictures will be huns, as ne
wants them hung, and those he doesn't
want hung will be put in the store
rooms. If there are any notes miss
ing he'll supply them" Was ever a
museum called into being on a more
~ l.. l.. Itr1
TO make the thing 7ioht. His heart
and soul are in t. To listen to him,
and to see what he has already done, is
70 know that he will succeed.