When Victorian art fell out of fashion in the early 20th century, one man began collecting it, and now some of his substantial collection has gone on display.
Cecil French was an Irish-born artist and poet who gave up painting and started buying instead. By the time he died, he owned 150 artworks by some of the top Victorian and early 20th-century artists, and he generously donated the entire collection to several museums.
But not the V & A, which he had some sort of falling out with.
The largest bequest went to his long-term home, Hammersmith and Fulham council, which received 52 works in total. An exhibition of some of those paintings is now open at Leighton House.
As the collection is very mixed, it’s not overly themed and was more about what the buyer could afford at a price they could afford, yet there’s clearly a strong air of the Pre-Raphaelite in the collection. So, one moment you’re looking at a religious story, and the next, a poor woman in a small house, looking worn out from life.
One worth seeking out is based on the Arthurian legend, which has been folded in half, later restored to its full length, but with the fold still visible. Because of that, French struggled to resell it to raise money for more purchases.
Thanks to the mix on display though, this one-room exhibition can drop you back into a more romantic time.
There’s also a second exhibition in the basement space, of drawings from the Scott Thomas Buckle collection.
He is a local resident who started collecting in the 1980s when he was working as a Parliamentary lobbyist and fell in love with the art that surrounded him inside Parliament. He now has a large collection of mainly Victorian prints and drawings, and a personal selection of his favourites is on display.
A nice touch in this exhibition is that they also include his personal stories of how he acquired the artwork, often thanks to his research spotting misattributed works that he was able to buy without people realising what they really had.
Like the earlier collector upstairs, this is a mixed display ranging from typography samples to sketches to nearly finished works.
Again, it’s a collection that dumps you back to an earlier age.
Both exhibitions are at Leighton House in Kensington until 21st September.
- Adult: £14
- Concession: £13
- Child (6-18 yrs): £5
- Child (under 6): Free
- National Art Pass: Free
The house is open Wednesdays to Mondays between 10am and 5:30pm (last entry 4:30pm)
