NATIONAL GALLERY

Hawera Star, Volume LI, 3 January 1931, Page 7

NATIONAL GALLERY

PRINCE NOW A TRUSTEE,

PICTURE WITH HISTORY,

The Prince of Wales took his seat on November 11 for the first time as a trustee of the National Gallery. He sat with Mr Ramsav MacDonald, Mr Stanley Baldwin, Sir Robert Witt, Sir Joseph Duvcen, Lord Lee of Fareham 'and others in whose charge are the destinies of the great national assembly of pictures, an assembly acknowledged to be one of the finest and most representative art collections in the western world.

The most surprising tiling about the national collection is that within one hundred years it has risen to such, heights of wealth and beauty. Most of the important collections on the Continent have been in existence for a much ■longer period —collections of kings and princes accumulated through the ages.

OVER 1000 PICTURES,

There is a romantic story to he told Concerning the great range of buildings on the north side of Trafalgar Square known as the National Gallery. As a building it is not much to look at. In fact, one rude critic described it as a block of ugly stone surmounted by three pepper pots. But within those same walls are gathered over a thousand pictures worth tens of millions of pounds. It was in 1524 that the State purchased a small collection of thirty-eight pictures known as the Angerstein collection. Up to that time there was no national collection to speak of and England lagged behind even the meanest Continental country. These thirty-eight pictures were kept in Mr Anger stein’s house in Pall Mall, to which the public were admitted for a period of years while a new building was being prepared for their reception. When the new gallery was completed in the late ’thirties it was cramped, for the authorities had decided to make it house the students of the Royal Academy. This unhappy state of affairs went on for many years until the students were sent to Burlington House in Piccadilly, hut the entrance to their old school in the National Gallery can still be seen with the notice over the door.

HIS TRAVELLING COMPANION.

From time to time the gallery has been enriched by private gifts, bat for the most part it has reached its present dimensions through the judicious attitude of the trustees.

-Some of the pictures in the collection have a remarkable history. There is a famous canvas by 'Claude 'Lorraine. It is called “ Landscape with Figures,” and was originally presented by -Sir George Beaumont. Sir (George had looked upon the picture as his travelling -companion and, after be presented it to the nation, he was unable to bear its loss. IF.' begged the. trustees to give it back to him during his lifetime, and it went on its travels again. When Sir George died he returned the picture to the gallerv together with a cheque for £IO.OOO.

The original sum voted by Parliament to acquire the Angerstein collection was only £60,000. Nowadays an annual grant of about £34,000 is voted. If our gallery is to be enriched, it must largely depend on private assistance. Recently a large sum was given bv a private body to the -Duke of Northumberland for a great canvas by Titian. It far exceeded the amount of the annual grant.