New-York tribune., 1919-09-01
British Art Fu1,d
Prepares Again to
Protect Treasures
Association Has Expended
S85O,OOO in Saving Noted
Things to Nation When
Offered at Public Sales
NeW York Tribune
Foreign Press Bureau

Fore'0n Press Bureau
The National Art Collections Fund
OF England did not do very much dur
ing the war. but with the advent of
peace it is preparing for active work
once more. At recent meeting of the
tund in London r. c. Witt, the presi-
dent. said in fifteen years the fund
had collected Ss50,00O and purchased
more than 800 works of art for the
nation, as reported in "The London
Times"
In 1910, he said, fine early ff-
teenth century piece of Arras tapestry,
'nlrteen feet square, came up for sale,
which had formerly been in the pos
session of Cardinal Wolsey, and was
part of the decoration of Hampton
Court Palace: 1t represented "Charity
challenging the seven deadly SINS and
tt'Fco pieces were still in Hampton
Court. The government promised half
the purchase money if the Art Collec-
uons Fund would make itself RESPONSE
bic for the remainder, but owing to
the war the matter appeared likely to
fall through, when Sir Alfred Mond
made himself responsible for the bal
ance. very substantial sum. The
tapestry had been secured and would
hang eat Hampton Court with the three
other pieces.
Fund Wins Praise
II. A. L. Fisher, president of the
board of Education. eulogized the work
of the society, which had had great
trumphs in the past 1t had saved for
the nation the Rokeby "Venus," Hol-
bein's "Duchess of Milan" and what he
considered an even greater triumph,
Masaccio's "Madonna and Her Child"
which filled gap in the national col
10
lclty of taste with which they con-
Quoted their operations. They had even
gone so far as to buy an autograph
letter Of Mary, Queen of Scots. 1t
was beautiful piece of caligraphy,
written at a time when the standard of
caligraphy was extremely low.
He had always thought that in Eng
land sufficient use was not made of
the museums and art galleries. He
had often thought they ought to make
a much more strenuous effort, such as
was made in France, to make sure that
the treasures Of the museums and art
were brought to the notice Of men,
women, and children in the ncighbor-
hood, and that they were given some
kind Of discipline or education in the
treasures contained in those rcpos-
tories. In France it was usual to find
in an art gallery good collect ION of
picture postcards, containing pictures
Of objects in the museum or gallery,
and he would like to see that course
more generally adopted in England.
Benefit to Children
He knew what immense profit and
delight school children obtained when
conducted, intelligently and under
proper guidance, through museums and
,,-+ l. y
their object to see that schools were
provided with the best possible casts,
and that was a matter which, at The
present moment, was engaging his very
careful attention. For some reason
or other music appeared to have a far
greater hold over schools and uni
versities than the plastic arts. and
there was still a great deal to do, both
in schools and universities. in spread
ing q taste for the fine arts.
He was anxious to see good pictures
in the national schools. Already many
of them had some pictures, generally,
he thought, coming from Germany, and
re trusted they might sec consider
able development in tina. direction
soon. They did not make as much use
Of pictures and reproductions in the
secondary schools as was the case in
America, where the classrooms were
illustrated by good reproductions Of
good pictures. With regard to the
training of museum experts in the uni
versities. he thought he would rely
upon :. good foundation of general
literary training rather than upon any
Very specialized training in museum
craft. Museum experts should be of
wide culture with a sensitive apprecia-
tlon of such matters, and such men
were produced in sufficient numbers by
tho universities