Viewing page 372 of 474

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

-31-

HISTORY AND ART

[[line]]

History and Art at the Smithsonian is defined to embrace the following organization units: the Museum of History and Technology, which is primarily concerned with American history and the history of technology, the Collection of Fine Arts, which is the Smithsonian's museum devoted to the history of American art along with its subsidiary, the Renwick Gallery, which displays decorative arts and crafts; the Portrait Gallery, which studies American biographic history through the various media of portraiture; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, which is the Smithsonian's museum of modern art; the Freer Gallery of Art, which covers the broad fields of Near and Far Eastern art; the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, which focuses its program on design and holds one of the major decorative arts collections in the world; the Archives of American Art, the nation's largest repository of documentary materials pertinent to the study of American art history; the Joseph Henry Papers Project, which edits and publishes the papers of Joseph Henry, the first Secretary of the Smithsonian and a leading scientist in the mid-1800's; the Museum of African Art, which deals with the traditional art forms of the Continent of Africa; and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for History and Art, which provides overall guidance and coordination. The resources and programs of the Office of American and Folklife Studies are also administered by the Assistant Secretary for History and Art. These activities are contained in the Special Programs chapter to provide consistency with the FY 1981 budget presentation to Congress.

Each of the History and Art museums has its own physical plant, its own distinctive collections, its own specialized staff, and more importantly, its own character and sense of purpose. Although the Freer Gallery of Art opened more than 50 years ago, the preponderant activity in History and Art at the Smithsonian has been developed largely over the last sixteen years, in most instances following specific enactments by the Congress. The budgets for History and Art activities have grown at a measured pace, and most of the bureaus are now reasonably well funded to carry out at least the basic charge each has been given.

[[underline]] Current Resources and Support [[/underline]]

Current funding for History and Art activities consists of a mixture of appropriated federal funds, infrequent federal grants and contracts, nonappropriated restricted trust funds, and allocations of nonappropriated unrestricted trust funds. In FY 1979, resources available to History and Art programs amounted to approximately $20,600,000 and 705 full-time positions. About 76 percent of the dollar figure and 90 percent of the