AN ART CENTENARY.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 94, 21 April 1924, Page 4

AN ART CENTENARY.

This month marks the centenary of the British National Gallery, which, growing from humble "beginnings, now possesses by far the best collection of British paintings in the world, and a collection of foreign masterpieces of which the nation has every reason to feel proud. Although, according to a statement in the official catalogue - of the gallery, George IV. was the prime mover in founding the collection, yet there Is every reason to believe that the power behind the Throne was Sir George Beaumont, who was not only a patron of art and a collector, but also a landscape painter of no .small merit. Sir George promised that if a National Gallery could <be formed he would present the pick of his private collection, including four Claudes, and he persuaded tho Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, to give a Government grant of £57,000 for the purchase of pictures. With this money a committee of art lovers purchased thirty-eight pictures from the collection of John Angerstein, and 6o valuable have these pictures become to-day that many of them would fetch singly the entire sum paid for the whole collection. Previous to this there had been no public collection, that made by King Charles I. having been dispersed after his fall 'before it could be acquired by the nation. Many private lovers of art had made extensive pur chases, and numbers of travelling Englishmen had bought pictures, statues and gems with considerable judgment and a fair share of luck. Art was looked upon as a refinement of life, suitable for the wealthy, but it was not regarded, as with us, as a means of education and a moulder of character. Although the National Gallery was founded in April, 1824, it did not receive a State endowment till 1855, so little was its educational value appreciated at first. Now it is only the chief of at least six public galleries in London alone. It has been enriched by purchases made from the public funds, and also by many generous gifts made by public-spirited lovers of art. The National Gallery will compare favourably with the great public galleries of the European countries, and it is a testimony to the conception of the Engish people of the part played in life by art. It is also an inspiration to the Dominions, where art receives less attention. Collections like that at the National Gallery, as generation after generation of colonial visitors see their glories, must have a considerable influence on Dominion taste, and the place of art in overseas communities.