Evening star., 1937-01-03
Text of Correspondence Between President and Mellon
Cabinet Member Dgnaes Location of Proposed Gallery North Side OF
Be Highest Standard.

have made. That collection Is rep
resentative Of most of the great
masters Of Western Europe and in
cludes outstanding works of art
which I acquired from the Her
mitage Gallery In Russia. 1t also
contains Renaissance sculptures.
including most Of those formerly
in the Dreyfuss collection in Paris:
and there is, in addition, a large
assemblage of American portraits
from the Clarke and other collec-
tions. which would be suitable for
a national portrait gallery.
Points to Necessity
OF Emphasizing Quality.
BY reason of the rarity and i'm
portance Of these works Of art. the
general character Of the collection
Is such that 1t will furnish the
nucleus of a great national collec-
ton and will give our country at
once a national gallery that will
rank with the other great galleries
of the world. In making the col
lection have placed emphasis on
quality rather than quantity; and
the terms under which the gift
would be made are intended solely
for the purpose Of safeguarding the
collection and insuring efficient
management, 50 that the highest
standard of quality will always be
maintained in the art to be dis
played in the gallery.
II this plan meets with your ap-
proval I will submit formal offer
of gift stating specifically the terms
thereof and the erection of the
building may proceed Immediately
upon the acceptance Of such offer
and the passage of necessary legis-
lation by Congress. Appropriate In
struments Of conveyance and gift
will then be executed.
Sincerely yours,
(Signed) A. w. MELLON.
PRESIDENT EXPRESSES
DELIGHT.
My dear Mr.. Mellon:
When my uncle handed me your
letter Of December %, was not
only completely taken by surprise,
but was delighted by your very
wonderful offer to the people of
the United States.
This was especially so because
for many years I have felt the
need for a national gallery Of art
in the Capital. Your proposed gift
does more than furnish what you
call a nucleus" because I am
confident that the collections you
have been making are Of the first
importance and will place the
Nation well up in the first rank.
Furthermore, your offer of an
adequate building and an endow-
ment fund means permanence in
this changing world.
Because the formal offer calls
for specific statement of the terms
and will have to be worked out
before any request is made by me
to the Congress for the necessary
legislation, may I suggest that you.
or whoever you may care to desig-
nate, should come to see me some
afternoon this week?
Also, I think that We should dis
cuss the formal announcement and
the terms Of it.
With my renewed appreciation
Of your letter, believe me.
Very sincerely yours,
(Signed)
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.
FORMAL OFFER MADE.
December 81, 1896.
My Dear Mr.. President:
I wish to thank you for your
kind letter Of December 26 and
greatly appreciate the interest you
have shown in my plan for the
establishment Of q national gall
lery Of art at Washington.
For the purpose of carrying this
plan into effect, I hereby offer to
give the art collection, which
have brought together, to the
Smithsonian Institution or to the
United States Government for the
benefit of the people of the United
States and to construct suitable
building in which to exhibit this
collection and other works of art
of like quality which other citizens
may In the future contribute to the
national collection.
In connection with the offer
which I have made on behalf Of
myself and the other trustees. who
have the responsibility of carrying
out this purpose, and in accordance
with the suggestion in your letter,
I set forth below an outline Of the
definite terms and conditions under
which the gallery is to be erected
and, together with the art collec.
ton. is to be given to the Smith
sonian Institution or to the Gov
ernment of the United States, all
Of which conditions are intended
for the efncient management Of
the gallery and for safeguarding
the high standard Of quality which
should be maintained In the art to
be displayed therein.
First. The gallery shall not bear
my name, but shall be known aS
the National Gallery of Art" or
by such other name as may appro-
priately identify it as q gallery OF
art OF the National Government,