Evening star., 1938-06-19

Intended to Provide
for Collections
Given Nation.
By Leila Mechlin.

a-- By Leila Mechlin.
THAT we are to have. sometime In
the comparatively near future, not
only . great National Gallery of Art,
the building Of which Is now in
process, but also Smithsonian Gal
1ery Of Art to house our national
collection Of line arts, seems to those
who have followed such matters close
" for years too good to be true, but
to others perhaps . bit confusing
The facts are these: The National
Gallery Of Art, which will, 1t Is un-
derstood, be completed In two years,
10 the gift Of the late Andrew w.
Mellon. It will house his superlatively
1ins collection Of paintings by the
great masters and other works which
may, from time to time. be added,
provided they uphold the same stand
ard. The intention was (and Isl that
this National Gallery of Art shall be
Qn = par with the great national gall
leries Of European countries-such as
the British National Gallery on Trafal-
ger Square. London; the Louvre in
Paris, the Uffizi in Florence, the Her
mitage in Leningrad.
That it will is now doubly assured
by Mr.. Melons provisions and the
atction Of Congress. One of the
former was that works previously ac-
cepted by the Smithsonian Institution.
rs custodian, for a national gallery
OF art should henceforth be designated
as Of the National Collection of Fine
Arts. To an extent this was q wise
provision, but it left stranded upon
the hands of the Smithsonian Institu-
ton several worthy collections given
and received in good faith, which had
for years awaited placement in
national gallery of art, and mean
while had been shown but poorly
To house and display these collections
and others yet to be acquired the
proposed Smithsonian Gallery of Art
will adequately provide.
At glance, this might seem to be
an overlapping both Of function and
expense, but it is not so. In the
Smithsonian Gallery Of Art chief en-
phasis will be put upon contemporary
art-also other arts may be included
in addition to painting and sculpture.
It will be testing ground-a place
where transient exhibitions may be
held, and from which it is hoped
travelling exhibitions will be sent out
to State institutions throughout the
country. In other words, it will stand
in somewhat similar relation to the
National Gallery that the Luxembourg
does to the Louvre, and the Tate to
the National Gallery. London.
ODDLY enough, we might today
have no immediate prospect Of
. National Gallery Of Art such as
Mr.. Melons benencence has assured
had it not been for one Of the COL
lections excluded therefrom provided
its unity is maintained. This is the
collection willed by Harriet Lane
Johnston to the Corcoran Gallery Of
Art with the proviso that should .
National Gallery Of Art come into ex-
istence 1t should revert thereto. Un-
der these circumstances the Corcoran
Gallery Of Art declined the gift and
q friendly suit was instituted in the
courts of the District Of Columbia
to legally determine ownership. The
result was . decree, handed down by
Justice Stafford, to the effect that .
National Gallery Of Art was within
- hA hAAtNaRt
and foundation, and therefore did al
ready exist under the guardianship Of
the Smithsonian Institution.
This was an epoch-marking deci-
sion. It bears the date July II.
1906. Less than . year later Will
liam r. Evans of New York offered
to the National Gallery Of Art q
valuable collection of paintings by
American artists, later supplemented
by the bequest Of his friend, Henry
w. Ranger-of which more at another
time. There is nothing more con-
tagious than giving, and as the Har-
riet Lane Johnston bequest led to
the gift Of the Evans collection, 90
it, in turn, undoubtedly attracted to
the National Gallery Of Art such
collections, now proudly owned, as
those Of John Gellatly Of New York
and Ralph Cross johnson Of wash
ington. In addition, mention should
be made Of the collection Of war por-
traits, purposed Is the nucleus Of a
National Portrait Gallery, and other
; lesser groups.
Y~ 1AA1 fa -
minister and conduct the National
Gallery of Art was formed, with Will
liam H. Holmes, distinguished water
colorist and chief of the Bureau Of
American Ethnology. as director; the
following year On honorary advisory
committee, known as the National
r Gallery Of Art Commission, was
brought into being, and in 1909 one of
the main new halls in the new United
States National Museum was cleverly
adapted for gallery purposes. BY act
Of Congress, July l, 1920, the Ma
tional Gallery Of Art was set aside
as . separate administrative unit
under the Smithsonian Institution,
and since that date there has been
y SAx10A1 o4A41o0A oPpA0PA S0eAOAA W SoVCA
salaries and necessary incidental ex-
pense.
NO ONE can say that up to the
present time the responsibility
has weighed heavily. When Mr.
Holmes died, his salary a. director Of
the National Gallery Of Art was i'm
pounded-and his successor, Ruel p.
Tolmsn. took on the work at first in
in addition to his duties Is head Of
the Division Of Graphic Arts of the
United States National Museum. The
facilities for display have been alto
gether inadequate especially since the
installation Of the 0ellatly collection
and the appropriations for incidental
expense have been infinitesimal
In 1923 hopes for National CAL
lefy building were raised by Congress
setting aside site to the left Of the
National Museum, On the Major