Evening star., 1941-03-17
Recalls RooseveIt's
Work for Art Gallery
#. r. lntervened
With Big Stick
To Accept Gift
By Isabella HaQner James.


With the opening of the gallery pre-
sented to our country by the munifcence
of the late Andrew w. Mellon, it may be
of interest to recall the groundwork for
a national gallery.
In the early part of this century
Charles L. Freer of Detroit signified his
desire to give to our Government his
wonderful collection, but it was found
that there was no provision for taking
care of such precious material. President
and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, always in
terested in anything which would stimu-
late the artistic knowledge and taste of
our people, invited Mr.. Freer to visit
them at the White House. There was
much consultation, and finally Mrs.
Roosevelt, in her quiet but able way,
consulted Senator Henry Cabot Lodge
and William H. Moody (then member
of Congress from Massachusetts, and
later Secretary of the Navy, Attorney
General and associate justice of the Su-
preme Court, and largely through her
interest a feasible plan was developed.
The only possible disposition seemed to
be the Smithsonian Institution, which
for years had been rather a dumping
ground for all kinds of gifts and bu-
reauS which could find no other home.
Among other things, our embryo WASH
ington Zoo began in a few cages back of
the National Museum Building until
moved to its present beautiful location!
At first the regents of the institution
firmly refused to accept the responsible
ity for Mr.. Freer's gift, which it was
hoped possibly might develop into
future national gallery. There was,
believe, law which gave a President
the right to take over. with his cabinet,
the duties of the regents. The statute
had never been invoked, but when Presi-
dent Roosevelt suggested this plan might
be followed unless the board became
more cooperative, the shadow of the
big Stick" removed all objections.
The necessary law or ruling was spon-
sored and arranged by Mr.. Moody, and
thus the first steps were taken toward
making it possible for individuals to be-
queath art treasures to the Government
for the people of the United States
The beautiful pictures owned by Mr..
and Mrs. Ralph Cross johnson, and
housed in their home on I street, were
a Mecca for occasional pleasant hours of
relaxation for President and Mrs. Theo-
dore Roosevelt. The realization that, if
proper Government accommodations
were provided, part of this collection
would be given, or loaned, was an addi-
tional impetus to the then Chief Execu-
tive and his wife to bend their efforts
toward making these gifts possible (The
johnson pictures and number of others
have been given to our Government and
now are housed in the National Museum.
l am told that the trustees of the new
gallery, II they desire, can move any of
ftheSe pictures to the new buildingD
Mr.. Freers gift was accepted on Janu-
ary "a, 1906, and the conveyance was
formally made on May 5 of the same
year. Most of the collection was kept
in Detroit during his lifetime, but when
the present Freer Gallery was sufi-
ciently near completion in the autumn
OF 1920, these priceless treasures were
placed IN the present building. Mr..
Freer's idea and hope were that his con-
trloution would be a unit of a great
art center for our Nation, and surely with
this dedication of the new gallery build
ing by the trustees of the A. w. Mellon
educational and Charitable Trust this
evening, his wish, after over 80 years,
has most marvelously come true.
1t is particularly heart-warming to us
cave dwellers" and old-timers of WASH
ington to remember the efforts of the
beloved President Theodore Roosevelt
and his wife toward this goal. Our
gratitude for their forethought and our
unspeakable thanks for this gift to our
whole Nation and future generations!