An article about Graham Sutherland’s bequest of art to Wales (The Jackdaw, no. 90) raised a number of points which further research has – partially – answered. To recap: Sutherland donated work to a purpose-formed Graham Sutherland Trust (the “Trust”) in 1976, which displayed the art in a gallery housed in Picton Castle, Pembrokeshire. When the cost of maintaining the gallery became unsupportable the Bequest was transferred to the National Museum of Wales (“NMW”).
Recently, I was able to view some of the works on paper and key documentation relating to the Trust at NMW in Cardiff. Items in the original Marlborough Gallery
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frames are kept in those frames; loose material is now stored in archive boxes. One box contained landscape sketches on perforated sheets from sketchbooks. These pages were mostly early (1930s), largely drawn in black ink with a fine nib and given washes of ink, watercolour or dilute oil (or a combination of those). Some of them were squared for transfer. Another box held sketches from Sutherland’s time as a war artist and showed the ruined Masonic Hall in Swansea and buildings in and around Cardiff. Some were versions of the same composition. Many were coloured pungent acid and moss greens, purple and pink. These sheets, a mere handful, demonstrate the excellent quality of some of NMW’s Sutherland collection. Unfortunately, it is not easy to ascertain which articles came via the Bequest, the Ministry of War or NMW acquisition, something that ongoing research by Rachel Flynn will establish.
Viewing the contents of the archive (including Sutherland’s will and the 1989 agreement between the Trustees and NMW) demonstrates how convoluted the tale of the Sutherland Bequest is. We can now flesh out a basic timeline. Sutherland deeded
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The Sutherland bequest: Alexander Adams pursues his original inquiry into the future home of an important gift to the nation
Recently, I was able to view some of the works on paper and key documentation relating to the Trust at NMW in Cardiff. Items in the original Marlborough Gallery
The resource requested could not be found on this server!
frames are kept in those frames; loose material is now stored in archive boxes. One box contained landscape sketches on perforated sheets from sketchbooks. These pages were mostly early (1930s), largely drawn in black ink with a fine nib and given washes of ink, watercolour or dilute oil (or a combination of those). Some of them were squared for transfer. Another box held sketches from Sutherland’s time as a war artist and showed the ruined Masonic Hall in Swansea and buildings in and around Cardiff. Some were versions of the same composition. Many were coloured pungent acid and moss greens, purple and pink. These sheets, a mere handful, demonstrate the excellent quality of some of NMW’s Sutherland collection. Unfortunately, it is not easy to ascertain which articles came via the Bequest, the Ministry of War or NMW acquisition, something that ongoing research by Rachel Flynn will establish.Viewing the contents of the archive (including Sutherland’s will and the 1989 agreement between the Trustees and NMW) demonstrates how convoluted the tale of the Sutherland Bequest is. We can now flesh out a basic timeline. Sutherland deeded
Proudly powered by LiteSpeed Web Server
Please be advised that LiteSpeed Technologies Inc. is not a web hosting company and, as such, has no control over content found on this site.