Financier Andrew W. Mellon began gathering a private collection of old master paintings and sculptures during the First World War, but in the late 1920s he decided to direct his collecting efforts, secretly, towards the establishment of a new national gallery for the United States. This intent was confirmed in 1930 by the formation of the A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, which was to be the legal owner of works intended for the gallery. In 1930-1931, the Trust made its first major acquisition, 21 paintings from the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, including such masterpieces as Raphael's Alba Madonna and Jan van Eyck's The Annunciation. In 1929 Mellon had initiated contact with the recently-appointed Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Charles Greeley Abbot, and in 1931 he was appointed a Commissioner of the Institution's National Gallery of Art.

When the director of the Gallery retired, Mellon requested Abbot not to appoint a successor, because he proposed to endow a new building, with funds for expansion of the collections, which would, in effect, be a rebirth of the Gallery. However, his trial for tax evasion, centering on the Trust and the Hermitage paintings, caused the plan to be modified, and in 1935 he announced, in the Washington Star, his intention to establish a new gallery for old masters, separate from the Smithsonian. When quizzed by Abbot, he explained that the project was now entirely in the hands of the Trust- also that their decisions were partly dependent on "the attitude of the Government towards the gift".

Eventually, in January 1937, Mellon formally offered to create the new Gallery, and on his birthday, 24 March 1937, an Act of Congress accepted the collection and building funds (provided through the Trust), and approved the construction of a museum on the National Mall. The new gallery was to be effectively self-governing, not controlled by the Smithsonian, but took the old name "National Gallery of Art" while the Smithsonian's gallery would be renamed the "National Collection of Fine Art" (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum). [30]

Designed by architect John Russell Pope (who would go on to design the Jefferson Memorial), the new structure was completed and accepted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on behalf of the American people on March 17, 1941. Neither Mellon nor Pope lived to see the museum completed. Both died in August 1937, within twenty-four hours of each other, only two months after excavation had begun. At the time of its inception it was the largest marble structure in the world. The museum stands on the former site of the Sixth Street railway station, most famous for being where 20th president James Garfield was shot in 1881 by a disgruntled office seeker.

The Gallery's East Building was constructed in the 1970s on much of the remaining land left over from the original congressional joint resolution. It was funded by Mellon's children Paul Mellon and Ailsa Mellon Bruce. Designed by famed architect I.M. Pei, the contemporary structure was completed in 1978, and was opened on June 1 of that year by President Jimmy Carter. The new building was built to house the Museum's collection of modern paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints, as well as study and research centers and offices. The design received a National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1981.

The final addition to the complex is the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. Completed and opened to the public on May 23, 1999, the location provides an outdoor setting for exhibiting a number of pieces from the Museum's contemporary sculpture collection.

7.2 Buildings

Two buildings comprise the museum: the West Building (1941) and the East Building (1978) linked by a spacious underground passage. The West Building, composed of pink Tennessee marble, was designed in 1937 by architect John Russell Pope in a neoclassical style.(as is Pope's other notable Washington, D.C. building, the Jefferson Memorial). Designed in the form of an elongated H, the building is centered on a domed rotunda modeled on the interior of the Pantheon in Rome. Extending east and west from the rotunda, a pair of high, skylit sculpture halls provide its main circulation spine. Bright garden courts provide a counterpoint to the long main axis of the building.

The West Building has an extensive collection of paintings and sculptures by European masters from the medieval period through the late 19th century, as well as pre-20th century works by American artists. Highlights of the collection include many paintings by Jan Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Leonardo da Vinci.

In contrast, the design of the East Building by architect I. M. Pei is rigorously geometrical, dividing the trapezoidal shape of the site into two triangles: one isosceles and the other a smaller right triangle. The space defined by the isosceles triangle came to house the museum's public functions. That outlined by the right triangle became the study center. The triangles in turn became the building's organized motif, echoed and repeated in every dimension.

The building's most dramatic feature is its high atrium designed as an open interior court, it is enclosed by a sculptural space frame spanning 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2). The atrium is centered on the same axis that forms the circulation spine for the West Building and constructed in the same Tennessee marble.

The East Building focuses on modern and contemporary art, with a collection including works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Alexander Calder. The East Building also contains the main offices of the NGA and a large research facility, Center for the Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA).

The two buildings are connected by a walkway beneath 4th street, called "the Concourse" on the museum's map. In 2008, the National Gallery of Art commissioned American artist Leo Villareal to transform the Concourse into an artistic installation. Today, Multiverse is the largest and most complex light sculpture by Villareal featuring approximately 41,000 computer-programmed LED nodes that run through channels along the entire 200-foot (61 m)-long space. [12] The concourse also includes the food court and a gift shop.

The final element of the National Gallery of Art complex, the Sculpture Garden was completed in 1999 after more than 30 years of planning. To the west of the West Building, across Seventh Street, the 6.1 acres (25,000 mІ) Sculpture Garden was deisgned by landscape architect Laurie Olin as an outdoor gallery for monumental modern sculpture and includes plantings of native American species of canopy trees, flowering trees, shrubs, ground covers, and perennials.

A circular reflecting pool and fountain form the center of its design, complemented by great arching pathways of granite and crushed stone. (The pool is transformed into an ice-skating rink during the winter) The exhibited sculptures in the surrounding landscaped area include pieces by Roxy Paine, Joan Mirу, Louise Bourgeois, and Hector Guimard. [3]

7.3 Collection

The Smithsonian today is a collection of museums that includes the Anacostia Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Hirshhorn Museum, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of American History, National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of Natural History, National Portrait Gallery, National Postal Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Zoo.

Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian is the world's largest museum and research complex consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities. There are 6,000 Smithsonian employees, including approximately 500 scientists, and more than 6,500 volunteers.

Approximately 30 million people from around the world visited the Smithsonian in 2009, with more than 175 million visits to the Smithsonian Web sites. The total number of objects, works of art and specimens at the Smithsonian is estimated at 137.

The Smithsonian offers 15 museums each unique. There is so much history and items to marvel at from the Hope Diamond to the Air and Space Museum. Entrance to the museums is surprisingly free and would take days to see each one thoroughly.

The Smithsonian is so large, diverse, and well-done that you could spend weeks there and never be bored. You may be surprised to know that Smithsonian's 19 museums among America's 25 most visited museums.

Today, the Smithsonian is a beloved and world-famous institution, with a dominating presence in the capital's monumental center. But of course, it was not always so. We will probably never know what ultimately led Smithson to include this country in his will, but we're glad he did. It would be unimaginable for Smithson to be able to realize what a valued treasure he enabled with his gift. With all the wealth that has been created in the modern world I am amazed that nothing close to the establishment of the Smithsonian has been bequeathed.

I am a regular museum-goer. In fact I visited no less than 20 museums. Among them: the National Gallery, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Museum of Natural History, the Jamestown Settlement , the Colonial Williamsburg, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Poklonnaya Hill and others.

Finally, I would like to quote Joseph Hirshhorn, who was an art collector. He donated much of his collection to The Smithsonian Institution. He said: "It is an honor to have given my art collection to the people of the United States as a small repayment for what this nation has done for me and others like me who arrived here as immigrants. What I accomplished in the United States I could not have accomplished anywhere else in the world."

Our investigation shows how museums were established and how they are developing nowadays. Thus, the whole topic was covered.

Bibliography