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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION    1267

THE GELLATLY ART COLLECTION

The Secretary made the following statement:

At the Annual Meeting last year, it was reported that proof in the procedure in the Court of Claims relative to Mrs. Charlayne Whiteley Gellatly’s demands for $10,000 as part value of the collection had been closed. The Institution was defended in this proceeding by the Department of Justice, through Mr. Grover Sherrod, and had in addition the assistance of Mr. Huntington Cairns, General Counsel of the National Gallery of Art. 

Under date of May 5, 1947, the Court of Claims rendered a decision, with special findings of fact, in which the circumstances relating to the Gellatly gift were set forward at length. 

The findings on page 26 state:

“Whether the transaction be construed as a gift, a transfer or an assignment, it was in either event complete and binding. It was never repudiated by John Gellatly, but on the other hand expressly confirmed by his. There is no basis in law or equity to set aside the gift or transfer and no basis in law or equity to allow a recovery in behalf of the Gellatly estate.”

The statement continues on page 27 as follows:

“Whether any sum should be appropriated directly for Mrs. Gellatly by way of a gift, grant or donation to her in the circumstances is a matter for the determination of the Congress. Certainly the Gellatly estate has no claim either legal or equitable against the Government, since the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian Institution have lived up to their agreement with Mr. Gellatly in every way.”

A.W.

Transcription Notes:
The initials AW appear on the lower left side of the page (not transcribed).