Smithsonian Institution Archives

Collection Records, 1895-1975

Summary

Collection ID:
SIA.FARU0550
Creators:
National Collection of Fine Arts. Office of the Director
Dates:
1895-1975
Languages:
English
Physical Description:
0.43 cu. ft. (1 12 x 17 box)
Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives

Descriptive Entry

Descriptive Entry
These records consist of archival items purchased from Miss Mary P. Plummer in 1969, as well as correspondence and other material from NCFA files. The records were maintained by the Director until 1972, when they were deposited in the NCFA Library.
This record unit consists of photographs of Mr. and Mrs. Gellatly, reprints of several journal articles concerning the Collection, several pieces of correspondence, notes describing various Collection objects, a manuscript called "A Summary of the Gellatly Collection," and a letter of artist Childe Hassam to John Gellatly.

Historical Note

Historical Note
The John Gellatly Collection was amassed by wealthy collector John Gellatly and his first wife, Edith Rogers Gellatly, in New York City during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Mrs. Gellatly died in 1913, and in 1929 Gellatly gave the Collection to the National Gallery of Art of the Smithsonian Institution. The Collection was moved to Washington and opened to the public in 1933 at the renamed National Collection of Fine Arts (NCFA), then housed in the Natural History Building.
Gellatly married Charlayne Whiteley Plummer in 1930. After his death in 1931, she initiated legal proceedings to regain the Collection. Litigation continued until 1947, when the courts decided in favor of the Smithsonian Institution.
The Collection itself consists of some 1640 items, ranging from paintings to jewelry to sculpture, from around the world and from the United States.

Administration

Author
Finding aid prepared by Smithsonian Institution Archives

Using the Collection

Prefered Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 550, National Collection of Fine Arts. Office of the Director, Collection Records

More Information

Notes

SI Records


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Gellatly, John, 1853-1931 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Plummer, Mary P. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hassam, Childe, 1859-1935 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gellatly, Edith Rogers Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Plummer, Charlayne Whiteley Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Natural History Building (Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
A Summary of the Gellatly Collection Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art museums Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum directors Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museums -- Administration Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museums -- Collection management Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manuscripts Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Smithsonian Institution Archives
Washington, D.C.
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