Oral history interview with John Walker

"John Walker served as the first chief curator at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., from 1939 to 1956 and as director from 1956 until his retirement in 1969. Walker recalled his education and training, his friendship with Bernard Berenson, his relationship to the Gallery's first director, David Finley, and his association with Gallery trustees and donors. He described Gallery activities during World War II, and in particular his work with the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas ("Roberts Commission") and its impact on the work of the U.S. Army's Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section in Europe. He expressed his ideas about conservation, and described his work on the restoration of the White House."