Barber Collection at the National Gallery

Birmingham's luck is now mine

 



Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham

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In my first post I mentioned that I wanted to explore some of the wonderful provincial galleries, so I was pleased to find that one of them had conveniently come to London. The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is part of the University of Birmingham, and contains a fine collection founded by Lady Barber in the 1932.  To mark its 80th anniversary, the first twelve Old Master and Nineteenth-Century paintings bought for the Institute have been loaned to the National Gallery, where they were originally housed while the Institute was being built. I thus gained a fascinating glimpse into the history of galleries and collecting without the expense of a train fare.

Lady Barber insisted the quality of paintings should be on a par with the National Gallery and the Wallace Collection. The first Director of the Institute, Professor Thomas Bodkin, was doubly lucky: firstly by being advised by Kenneth Clark, Director of the National Gallery (and later creator of the famous BBC series Civilisation), and secondly that the market was falling in the 1930s, so he could afford to make some very good purchases. I think they show Bodkin's judgement has more than stood the test of time:

A Tuscan Crucifixion, late thirteenth-century (£1,300). This is early enough to have obvious Byzantine influence.

St John the Evangelist by Simone Martini, Siennese, 1320 (£4,500). An artist who is not represented in the National Gallery.

Christ on the Cross, with the Virgin and St John the Evangelist by Giovanni Battista Cima da Conogliano, c 1488/1493 (£8,700 - more than the Poussin, Monet, Turner and Manet combined). Cimas are very rare in British collections.

Tancred and Erminia, Nicholas Poussin, c 1634 (£2,000). This was a high price; Anthony Blunt cast doubt on its authenticity, not the first time he was involved in such controversy (see my blog of 18 February). Presumably, these doubts were not upheld as the label categorically states "Poussin".

Portrait of a Man holding a Scull, Franz Hals, c 1610/1614 (£6,000). Bodkin was able to obtain this because the seller wanted the painting to stay in the UK.

Portrait of a Young Man, Jacopo Tintoretto, 1554 (£2,000). This was compared to Manet at the time.

A wooded landscape, Jacob van Ruisdael, early 1660s (£2,200). A good example by a painter much admired by English landscape artists.

The sun rising through vapour, Turner, c 1809 (£1,350). The relatively low price is because the market for nineteen-century English art was depressed in the 1930s. A wonderful evocation of a beach scene and my joint favourite.

The church at Varengeville, Monet, 1882 (bought in Paris for the equivalent of £1,408 and 9 shillings) This seems cheap because Monet's prices did not escalate until the 1950s. This is my other favourite - I love the extensive use of strong colour and the upward angle of the picture.

Lovers in a landscape, Nicholas Lancret, c 1736 (£1,800) No doubt bought at least partly with reference to the rather naughty eighteenth-century French paintings in the Wallace Collection, but this is a perfectly respectable depiction of virtuous love.

The River Dee near Eaton Hall, Richard Wilson (£1,200). Wilson was an important influence on the development English landscape painting, so a highly suitable purchase for an academic institution.

Portrait of Carlus-Duran, Manet, 1876 (£3,675). This is a large unfinished portrait of a friend; frankly I think the price reflects the name rather than the quality (but then I'm not a fan of Manet's portraits - see my blog of 28 April)

Birmingham was very lucky in the timing of this bequest as, even if they came on the market, the competition for works like these today would almost certainly put them far beyond the reach of a single purchaser, however rich and persistent. As a job lot, they would certainly be worth a lot more than the £36,133 Bodkin paid.