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[[preprinted]] SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 861 [[/preprinted]] [[preprinted left margin]] MADE BY BAKER-VAWTER CO. [[/preprinted left margin]] Under the will of Mrs.Mary Lloyd Pendleton Abney, of New York, dated May 16, 1928, the following is made:- Clause Seventh: To the National Gallery, at Washington, District of Columbia, heretofore known as the Corcoran Gallery, I give and bequeath the four Key family portraits said to have been painted by Peter Lilly and Godfrey Kneller, to wit - portraits of Mrs.John Zouch (Lady Zouch), Michael Arnold, Ann Arnold,wife of Michael Arnold and daughter of Thomas Knipe,and Susan Gardner, the mother of John Ross; and I give and bequeath also the portrait of Mary Tayloe Lloyd, wife of my grandfather, Francis Scott Key, painted by Godfrey Kneller, and her miniature, painted by Robert Field, the Key Table and two chairs which were used by Francis Scott Key, the Lloyd mahogany table and four old chairs and old knocker from the Francis Scott Key house, which was at Georgetown by the Arlington Bridge, now know as the Key Bridge. **** (Note by exectrix) - Mrs. Abney, while living, donated and delivered to others, the furniture mentioned in Clause Seven; and the "old knocker" was not found among her effects. The Corcoran Gallery, we are informed by Mrs.Jane F. Brice, the sister and executrix of Mrs. Abney, has executed to waiver to any right it might have to the bequest, and the matter was presented by her to Dr.Holmes, the Director of the National Gallery of Art, with the oral request by her husband, as Dr.Holmes understood, to have the National Gallery also execute a waiver of its rights. It has been estimated that the works by Lilly and Kneller, if authentic, are worth perhaps $25,000, and the miniature by Field about $1000 (it having been described by a disinterested dealer as the best miniature of a lady ever done by Field); while the furniture would add value of several thousand dollars tothe bequest, aside from its historical interest. Having in mind the probable value and interest of the objects, both from the artistic and historical standpoints, and in view of the national character of the Gallery, the Secretary did not feel that on the exparte statements of the executrix, who is also the residuary legatee under the will, he could waive any rights that the Gallery might have, without a proper adjudication of the matter; and so informed Mrs. Brice. After full discussion, the following resolution was adopted:- RESOLVED; That the matter of the bequest to the National Gallery of Art as made in the will of Mrs.Mary Lloyd Pendleton Abney, be referred to the
