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[[underlined]] Gilbert Stuart Portraits of George and Martha Washington [[/underlined]]

The Secretary introduced the topic of the possible purchase of the Gilbert Stuart portraits of George and Martha Washington.  He and Mr. Blitzer outlined the proposed terms of the sale contained in a letter from Augustus P. Loring, Treasurer of the Athenaeum, countersigned by Howard W. Johnson as Present of the Museum of Fine Arts and as Co-Chairman of the Commonwealth Cultural Preservation Trust, and the guidance provided by the Regents of the Commissioners of the National Portrait Gallery.

The Regents discussed the terms and various recommendations, and concluded that the Secretary should be authorized to continue discussions with the Boston Athenaeum.  It was the consensus that any final agreement should receive the support of any major public officials in Massachusetts who had publicly raised questions in this matter.   It was felt that the amounts paid by the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Fine Arts should correspond more closely to the periods of time each would have custody of the portraits, and that neither should be free to sell the portraits to any third party.  It was also generally agreed that control over conservation of the portraits should rest with the Smithsonian Institution, particularly of the Smithsonian was to pay a larger share of the purchase price.  Alter considerable discussion, the following resolution was adopted, with the understanding that the Executive Committee is