    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [April 8, 1998]
    [Pages 534-535]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Andrew W. Mellon Dinner
    April 8, 1998

        Thank you very much, Mr. Laughlin. Mr. Powell, Mr.
    Smith, members of the Board of Trustees,
    members of Congress and our administration, members of the Mellon
    family, ladies and gentlemen. It's a great honor for Hillary and me to
    be here tonight to honor this great legacy of Andrew Mellon and to honor
    all of you who do so much to carry on that legacy.
        I first came to the National Gallery over 30 years ago when I was a
    college student at Georgetown. Over the years, I've come back as often
    as I could. When I came here from time to time as Governor of my home
    State, I confess that on occasion I sneaked out of the meetings of the
    Governors' Association and came to the National Gallery, where there was
    less noise and more light. [Laughter] Hillary and I have been privileged
    to visit here in the last few years to tour the Vermeer and Picasso
    exhibitions, among others.
        It's hard to believe now that the National Gallery is 61 years old,
    founded when our country was in the grip of the Great Depression and the
    world was slipping inexorably toward World War II. But Treasury
    Secretary Andrew Mellon knew that our Nation's work lay, even then, not
    simply in our monetary strength or our military power but in the value
    of our ideas, the creativity of our spirit, the power of our common
    culture. So he and a group of passionate men and women gave this great
    gift to the Nation and established the tradition of partnership that
    endures down to the very day.
        There is no question that Paul Mellon
    carries on this tradition. His generosity has helped to invigorate and
    sustain our entire Nation's cultural and artistic institutions. Having
    already won the National Medal of Arts in 1985, last fall he was awarded
    the National Medal for the Humanities, which Robert Smith kindly accepted for him.
        So tonight I want to thank him again and all the members of his
    family who have participated in giving other Americans, who could never
    have afforded these things on their own, access to this wonderful world.
        When President Roosevelt dedicated the National Gallery, he said,
    ``The dedication of this gallery to a living past and to a greater and
    more richly living future is the measure of the earnestness of our
    intention that the freedom of the human spirit shall go on.''
        Today, at the dawn of a new century and a new millennium, it falls
    to us to continue

    [[Page 535]]

    in that great tradition. Hillary and I have launched the White House
    Millennium Program to encourage all Americans to honor our living past,
    with all its treasures, and to imagine our even more richly living
    future, with the creations and the discoveries yet to come.
        I hope that all of you will find ways to join us in your homes,
    wherever you're from, in the coming months and years as we celebrate and
    commemorate the new millennium. But most of all, tonight I just want to
    thank you on behalf of a grateful nation for your dedication and your
    commitment to our common cultural and artistic life.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:15 p.m. in the West Building at the
    National Gallery of Art. In his remarks, he referred to Alexander Mellon
    Laughlin, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Earl A. Powell III, Director,
    Robert H. Smith, President, and Paul Mellon, Honorary Trustee, National
    Gallery of Art.