Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-07-30
Washington to
be Art Center
BY W. S. MANN
Copyright, 1920, by The Washing,
ton Starl

WASHINGTON, July 500
make Washington an art center sec
ond to none other throughout the
world is the ambition of DR.. Will
liam H. Holmes, who has Just been
appointed director Of the national
gallery of art which become a dis
tinct unit under the administration
of the Smithsonian Institution with
the first funds for its support made
preparation bill.
Although DIR. Holmes points out
that Uncle Sam has never purchased
one picture for his national art gall
lery, during the past eighty years
there have gradually been assem-
bled from gifts a notable collection
of paintings and art works valued
at several million dollars which are
already crowded for space in the
new national museum.
The first step towards making the
national capital the art center of
this hemisphere if not of the entire
world must be the erection of a
suitable building to house the sew
eral valuable collections the govern
ment already owns and to which
will be attracted other notable col
lections which are seeking a per-
manent home. Congress will be ask
ed during the next session to pro-
vide funds for preliminary plans for
such an art and history building.
1t is intended that this building shall
be located in the Smithsonian
grounds between Seventh and Ninth
streets, harmonizing with the new
national museum. The new national
museum cost ~$3,751,000. but 1t
could not be duplicated today for
2 nm mn 30 H L. rnHAha h1A 49,
the permanent gallery for Uncle
Sans art collection will eventually
cost in the neighborhood of s10,-
000,0 900.
Away back in 1S49 congress d.
rected the formation of a gallery of
art for the nation, and eve before
that in 1910 gave encouragement
to such a project by granting an act
of incorporation to a private So
ciety whose collections eventually
were to be ceded to the United
States. The two collections thus
authorized by congress were united
in 1862 since which time the sub
ject of art as a museum feature
under the government has continued
in charge Of the Smithsonian insti-
tuition.
This custody of subjects of art
has been directly under DR.. Holmes
as head curator of a~nthropology but
the gallery of art has grown to such
proportions that a division of the
work became necessary and DR..
Holmes has been transferred from
science to art ~curatorship. Art had
become a strain on the scientific APP
preparation and so a separate organ
iZation was provided and funds
made directly available for the art
gallery. DIR. Holmes has begun the
organization Of a real national gall
lery.
The space given over to art in
the new national museum is already
crowded. A separate building spe-
cially designed for the best display
of the worlds most famous paint
ings, q imperative and leaders in
congress have declared wholeheart-
ed sympathy with this project.
There is no doubt that as 500 as the
building is provided many rich gifts
and important requests will be made
of art treasures. The private own
ers would much prefer to make a
gift of them to the nation for pos
terity than to deposit them in any
private institution. as a monument
to some individual.
For a time at least there will prob
ably be two distinct branches of the
national art gallery. One of these
will be the Freer gallery, a separate
building just nearing completion on
the Smithsonian grounds. built with
money furnished by Charles L.
Freer, of Detroit. to house his
of famous American and
Asiatic paintings-to be under a spe-
cial curator and staff, all the salaries
being paid out of private funds.
This Is the biggest art gift from any
ono man to the government. The
building has been designed and con-
structed most completely for it's pur-
pose of any in the whole world.
Eventually this privately support
ed unit and the government owned
and cared for collection will be unit
ed into n great National Gallery
with separate co-ordinated units.
The Freer collection consists of
5000 pieces including the famous
Whistler works. which are now be-
ing packed for shipment. The
gallery has a frontage of 22S
feet, a depth of 1856 feet and a
of 46 feet. 1t contains $1,000
feet of floor space. The
Whistler collection will occupy five
of the nineteen rooms on the main
floor, in one of which the decora-
lions Of the famous peacock room
will be installed.
The governments art collection
has been developing rapidly since
1906, when the Harriet Lane john
son collection was given to THE
National Gallery of Art" There are
now in the gallery several impor-
tant monuments to individuals, such
as the William T. Evans collection,
regarded as one of the choicest coll
lections of contemporary American
paintings in existence. Another such
monument is the gift last summer
of the Ralph Cross johnson collec-
ton conservatively estimated to be
worth more than a half million dol
lars. This comprises twenty-four
paintings by nineteen of Europe's
Observation-Disclosures, Reynolds,
Titan, Rubens, Rembrandt, and
others. One single portrait painting
in this collection would sell in New
York at any time, DR.. Holmes says,
for more than 100000. This is by
Lotto, an Italian painter of about
400 years ago.
Had this National Gallery had a
suitable building it could have Sc
cured several other important col
lections within the last few years,
such as the Prick collection in New
York and the johnson collection in
Philadelphia.
Claims He Is IA Years Old.
Said to have been born 144 years