Charles Lang Freer, whose original gift to the nation in 1906 formed the basis of a singular collection of Asian art, realized in his collection a link between East and West matched only in James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room. On the occasion of the opening of the renovated Freer galleries at the Smithsonian, this book is a celebration of the man. It is part biography and part catalog, detailing both the development of a connoisseur and the creation of a collection. Numerous color illustrations give just a hint of the extraordinary scope of the galleries, truly a national treasure.

Foreword / Milo Cleveland Beach -- Acquired taste -- The Whistler Collection -- The Asian tours -- Colleagues and dealers -- Freer and Fenollosa -- The American Renaissance -- Composing the collection -- The late years -- The Washington Building -- Chronology, Charles Lang Freer.