Welsh Journals

National Library in Aberystwyth, was also preparing a bid and was given permission to organise a bid of up to 25 guineas on Lot 218 which included two views of Pencerrig of 1772, A Wooded Landscape and two late views of Pencerrig dated 1784 and 1796 as well as a View of Aberystwyth. The sale itself took place on Friday 2 July at 11.00 am at Christie's premises in King's Street. The dealers were out in force but only Welsh museums seem to have tried to bid at the auction and only Ralph Edwards on behalf of the National Museum was successful. He purchased the first Lot 212, for £ 32 12s. as he had been instructed to do. The other lots were variously divided between Evelyn Joll acting for Agnews and an enthusiastic James Byam Shaw, a partner at Colnaghi's. The National Library and the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery were for the moment disappointed but they like many other museums and connoisseurs alerted to these works, now beat tracks to Colnaghi's door. Colnaghi's register reveals that the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery purchased Ruined Buildings, Naples, now identified as View from Hamilton's Palazzo Sesse towards the Cavern at Pizzofalcone c.1783 for £ 18 on 29 July 1954. Megan Ellis at the National Library also moved swiftly, considering one view of Pencerrig but eventually securing the view of Aberystwyth ruins for £ 8 on 24 September.14 Other curators of English museums were now also taking an interest in these extraordinary small oil sketches, particu- larly the Italian views. John Gere, Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum purchased the Houses at Naples on behalf of the museum in October 1954 for £ 28 one of the highest prices any institution paid Col- naghi's. At the Fitzwilliam it was Karl Winter, their Director who paid the largest sum of any purchaser for Scene near Naples which was acquired for 30 guineas on 25 August while Carl Parker at the Ashmolean in Oxford selected Rooftops in Naples for his institution paying £ 14 for it on 20 Au- gust. Interestingly, for Birmingham, Mary Woodall, their Keeper of Art purchased the Hill of Vomero and Dome of St Caterina for only £ 8 but paid significantly more for Pencerrig of 1772 which cost £ 14. Meanwhile at the National Museum there were rumblings of disquiet over the three Italian works purchased and the ratio of Italian to Welsh works. In an internal memo to the Director, Rollo Charles explained the dilemma: As you know, we recently bought 3 sketches, views of Naples, by Thomas Jones, at Christie's. These were sold in one lot, and we bought them because that lot happened to be the first sold of the several lots of Jones sketches in which we were interested. Most of the other lots were bought by Colnaghi's, and I saw several