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NEWS
from the Office of Public Affairs
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C. 20560
Telephone: (202) 381-5911
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For Immediate Release

[[underline]] SMITHSONIAN RETURNS HILLWOOD TO POST FOUNDATION [[/underline]]

S. Dillon Ripley, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and Mrs. Augustus Riggs IV, President of The Marjorie Merriweather Post Foundation of D.C., announced today that the ownership of Hillwood, the Washington residence of the late Marjorie Merriweather Post, will be transferred on July 1, 1976, from the Institution to the Foundation.

The transfer is being made after a review of the matter by both parties and approval of the decision by the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.

Hillwood, a 25-acre estate in northwest Washington, was given to the Smithsonian Institution subject to the provisions of the will of Mrs. Post, who over the years had assembled one of the finest collections of Russian and European decorative arts in this country.

The collection also will be transferred to the Foundation under a provision of Mrs. Post's will. It specifies that ownership of the house and collections shall pass to the Foundation if the Smithsonian determines that it is unable to operate Hillwood as a public museum in the manner proposed by Mrs. Post.

The Smithsonian's decision, which was reached after close and continuing consultation with officers of the Post Foundation, reflects the impact of inflation on the estimated cost of maintaining and operating Hillwood.