Scope and Content Note
The papers of David Edward Finley (1890-1977) span the years 1921-1977 and consist of general correspondence, subject material, writings, and miscellaneous papers. The collection is organized into four series: Correspondence; Subject File; Speech, Article, and Book File; and Miscellany.
Although there is a small group of Finley's personal correspondence for the years 1928-1972, which includes letters exchanged with Chester Dale, Paul Mellon, and Richard King Mellon, the bulk of his correspondence is contained in subject files that encompass his career with the United States Treasury Department (1922-1932), the National Gallery of Art (1938-1956), and his activities with numerous artistic and cultural organizations.
It might be noted here that a figure, other than Finley, also pervades these papers, namely, the American financier Andrew W. Mellon. In 1922 Finley joined the War Loan staff of the United States Treasury Department where he soon came to the attention of Secretary of the Treasury Mellon. He served as Mellon's special assistant at the Treasury Department from 1927 until 1932, accompanied him to England when Mellon was named ambassador to that country, and from 1934 until Mellon's death in 1937, Finley assisted in the acquisition of art works for Mellon's collection.
One of the two most notable subject files contains papers relating to the United States Treasury for the period when Finley served as Secretary Mellon's special assistant. The treasury papers are made up mainly of letters sent and received by Andrew W. Mellon; however, the bulk of Mellon's replies were written by Finley for Mellon's signature. Much of the correspondence reflects Mellon's views on tax reduction and government debts resulting from World War I. There are also papers relating to the controversy between Mellon and Senator James Couzens over the secretary's tax reduction plans. The file also contains speeches and articles by Mellon.
The second major subject file contains papers relating to the National Gallery of Art. Finley was associated with the national gallery from its inception, and the collection depicts in detail his involvement with plans for the construction of the building, the installation of Mellon's art collection, and the acquisition of other collections, such as those of Chester Dale, Samuel H. Kress, and Joseph E. Widener. There are papers concerning the design and lighting of the various galleries and the myriad details involved in the day-to-day operation of the gallery. Other papers relate to activities of the gallery during World War II, such as the distribution of art reproductions to armed services hospitals and special programs and dinners for servicemen at the gallery. Of particular interest in the correspondence are letters to Finley from John Walker, who succeeded Finley as director of the national gallery. The letters were written from England and Europe over the years 1946-1947 when Walker was involved in consultations about the national gallery's participation in the art program of Unesco and the acquisition of European paintings for the gallery. Among the prominent correspondents in these papers are Huntington Cairns, Royal Cortissoz, Chester Dale, Samuel H. Kress, Richard King Mellon, Duncan Phillips, Lessing J. Rosenwald, Harlan Fiske Stone, and Francis Henry Taylor.
Another outstanding subject file is that of the Commission of Fine Arts. Finley was appointed to the commission by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943. The papers relate to the architectural development of the city of Washington, D.C., to the selection of furniture and objects of art for the White House, and to various fine arts projects with which the federal government was concerned. Correspondents within this group include George Biddle, Clement E. Conger, Henry Francis Du Pont, James Earle Fraser, Walker Hancock, Herbert Hoover, Lady Kirkland Bird Johnson, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, President John F. Kennedy, Lincoln Kirstein, W. S. Lewis, Paul Manship, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Andrew Wyeth.
Included in the collection are papers pertaining to the People-to-People Program, a program to improve international relations through personal contacts by independent private groups and institutions. Finley was chairman of the fine arts committee, and his papers concern the distribution of color slides, photographs, and other color reproductions of American works of art to foreign countries. The committee also initiated a program for the donation of American paintings, sculpture, and prints to American embassies. Among Finley's correspondents are Leonard Carmichael, Lessing J. Rosenwald, and John Walker.
Papers pertaining to the National Portrait Gallery include correspondence with Senator Theodore Francis Green regarding legislation to establish and maintain the gallery. Other files concern the development of rules for the selection of portraits for the permanent collection. In addition to Green, correspondents include Leonard Carmichael, W. S. Lewis, Charles Nagel, and Sidney Dillon Ripley.
There is an extensive file for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, an organization chartered by Congress in 1949 to preserve historic American sites, buildings, objects, and antiquities of national significance. The papers show Finley's role in the formation of the trust and his direction of the organization as its first chairman. In addition to correspondence for the years 1946-1976, there are papers relating to the board of trustees and various committees, as well as files for individual historic properties such as the Cooper Union, Decatur House, and the Wayside Inn, Sudbury, Massachusetts. Correspondents include Marie Oge Beale, James Biddle, Helen Claire Duprey Bullock, Lewis W. Douglas, Edgar William Garbisch, and Gordon Gray.
Finley's papers also include a file of his speeches and articles and his book, History of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1947-1963.
A small group of miscellaneous papers contains bills and receipts, biographical material, family papers, scrapbooks, and printed matter.