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Introduction

This is an interim report to the Board of Regents on our Collections Acquisition Program, which is now at the halfway point of the five years that were initially authorized.

The Program began in January 1978 when the Board voted to approve the expenditure of $1,000,000 a year of Smithsonian trust funds over a five-year period, given the availability of funds, for major acquisitions.  The Program was designed to complement federal appropriations for acquisitions which at present provide a total of $800,000 for five Smithsonian museums.  The appropriated funds, though not large in amount, are extremely important and have enabled the museums to make planned, judicious purchases on a regular, annual basis.  However, because the largest amount appropriated to any of our museums is $300,000 (for the National Portrait Gallery), the funds do not permit the purchase of the major objects which can add significantly to the quality and comprehensiveness of the collections.  Recognizing this fact, the Board of Regents voted to provide a means for acquiring objects of such outstanding importance.

Six museums were designated to participate in this Program.  East was allotted a share of the total amount, and guidelines for the Program required that one half of the amount allotted to each museum should be matched, either with cash contributions or in kind.  In addition, a minimum was set for each purchase to ensure that the trust funds would indeed be used for major acquisitions.

Participating museums are the National Portrait Gallery, the National Collection of Fine Arts, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Free Gallery of Art, the National Museum of History and Technology, and the National Museum of Natural History.  The four art museums were allotted $1,000,000 each over five years, and the minimum purchase requirement is $200,000.  The Museums of History and Technology and of Natural History were allotted $500,000 each with a minimum purchase requirement of $100,000.

The Program has already made possible eight outstanding purchases for the Institution.  Each increases the importance of related collections and will greatly enrich the experiences of visitors and scholars alike in the years to come.

All six participating museums have made at least one purchase, and with expenditures to date of $3,122,500 the Program has attracted an additional $1,166,894 in matching funds or objects.