Evening star., 1935-02-24
By Leila Mechlin.


r. it is now good to count, it has
been rumored that some day
Mr.. Mellon was going to give
his valuable collection of art
and q gallery to the Nation. Last
Tuesday the rumor became a reality.
With the suddenness Of a bolt from
the blue, Mr.. Mellon declared this to
be his intention and he authorized
publication.
Originally it was said that $l0,000,-
900 would be given for building and
$l0,O00,0O0 for maintenance, but the
gift will, 1t seems, far exceed this in
proportions ard beneflcence. 1t is,
however. not the money value, but
the quality of the collection promised
which signifies The Mellon collec-
ton. very quietly assembled during a
considerable space Of time, Is Of
extraordinarily fine character-finer,
in fact, 1t is thought, than any other
collection of paintings in this country
or abroad privately owned and as
sembled. It is a collection of master
pieces such as the leading museums
Of the world would covet.
Because MIR. Mellon has gone about
his collecting SO quietly and has kept
his purchases in his home, or homes,
few realize to what an extent he has
acquired works of great distinction,
but to one following the exhibitions,
q loan here and loan there credited
to Mr.. Mellon, has in late years given
more than an inkling of the richness
of the collection as whole.
To the first Century of Progress
Exhibition, at the Art Institute Of
Chicago, 1888, Mr.. Mellon loaned a
painting by El Greco, 'St. Ildefonso,
Writing" which had at previous times
been owned successfully by Millet and
by Degas; and to the second Century
of Progress Exhibition. in 1884, he
loaned Goya's delightful portrait of
"Senora Sabassa Garcia" which was
included during the preceding Winter
in a notable Goya exhibition at Knoed-
lers, in New York. In an exhibition of
masterpieces held in New York for a
charitable purpose some Winters ago
there was a fascinating child portrait
of Edward vi of England. by Hans
Holbein. which, upon consulting the
catalogue, one found to have been
loaned by Mr.. Mellon. Indeed, the
truth is that scarcely any great exhi-
bition of this sort has been held in
recent years that has not drawn upon
the Mellon collection. perhaps more
heavily than generally known, some
anonymous loans being thus credit
able.
Possibly the most spectacular Of
Mr.. Melons purchases have been the
five paintings from the Hermitage
Galleries, founded in ST. Petersburg
now Leningrad, by Catherine the
Great. When a few months ago it
was said that MIR. Mellon had bought
the ALBA Madonna" by Raphael, for
Sl,500,000, it was denied. The fact is
that the purchase price was ST.
166,400. But the picture is his, to-
gether with "Crucifixion, by Peru
eino; Alteration of the Magi," by
Botticelli; "Annunciation," by Van
Eyck, and Venus With Mirror" by
Titian-all at one time in the Russian
national collection. These five pic
lures alone cost over three and quar-
ter million dollars. They are matchless
Invaluable possessions. Such works
establish the foundations upon which
tradition Is built.
When In the early days of our Re-
public, statesmen of Virginia planned
to build a capitol, Jefferson adjured
them to take as criterion of the best
those works Of the past which gen
erations had agreed to admire" The
are all works of this type-works, the
knowledge of which, will inevitably
raise standards. There has been a
good deal said in recent years about
discarding the past, but unless we
would break down civilization this is
the utmost folly. To have such works
here in our midst, available to all,
must prove of inestimable benefit.
It is an interesting thought in this
connection that what in the older
countries of Europe has been done by
paternal governments, has here in the
United States almost invariably been
done in fraternal spirit by indi-
viduals. Our Government has not as
yet seen fit to build and endoW Ma
tional Gallery of Art, but Charles L.
Freer gave us the Freer Gallery and
collection; w. w. Corcoran, the Cor
coran Gallery. From Harriet Lane
Johnston came the collection which
called National Gallery into exist
ence, enriched in time by the Evans
collection of American paintings, the
Ranger bequest to like end, the
Ralph Cross Johnson collection The
great collections belonging to the art
museums in Boston, New York, Phila-
delphia, Cleveland, Toledo. Chicago.
st. Louis and elsewhere have been
built up through private munificence.
Mr.. Mellon is reported to have said
that he does not wish the gallery
which is to house his collection to