In 1906 Charles Lang Freer donates his art collection to the Smithsonian Institution, and it later becomes the Freer Gallery of Art.
Lawton, Thomas and Linda Merrill. Freer: A Legacy of Art. Washington, D.C.: Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1993, p. 74-76.
Summary:
Charles Lang Freer travels to West Asia to expand his collections of Egyptian and West Asian art, particularly pottery. He visits Alexandria and Cairo in Egypt and various sites in Lebanon and Syria, including Beirut, Damascus, Baalbek, and Aleppo. Freer adds to his collection of ceramics, especially Rakka ware, which he appreciates for its blue-green glaze. He also travels to Constantinople (modern Istanbul), where he views Chinese celadon and blue-and-white porcelain collected by Ottoman sultans. Freer then travels through Greece, Hungary, and Austria before visiting friends in Paris, France. On August 26, 1908, he sets sail for New York.
