Painting, Passion and Politics: Masterpieces from the Walpole Collection

Somerset House, London (28 September 2002-30 March 2003)

On loan from the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, 'Painting, Passion and Politics' is showing at Somerset House, London, until the end of March. The exhibition presents 34 masterpieces from the collection of Sir Robert Walpole (1676-1745), 1st Earl of Orford and Britain's first Prime Minister. It was one of the 18th century's most famous and exceptional collections, assembled for Houghton Hall in Norfolk. Described as the ‘most celebrated collection in England’, the story of how it was amassed and eventually sold - not to form the planned National Gallery in London but to Catherine the Great of Russia - is one of drama and intrigue.

The sale of the remarkable collection by Walpole's 'eccentric and volatile' grandson in 1778-79 was devious and complex, and caused an outrage at the time. It was considered to be a perfect foundation collection for the establishment of a national gallery. The loss of 204 outstanding works to a foreign buyer was a devastating blow to morale and considered at the time to be a reflection of England's decline. Although 'Painting, Passion and Politics' displays a relatively small proportion of Catherine the Great's acquisition, the quality of the exhibits is exemplary. The core of Walpole's collection includes works by 17th century Dutch and Flemish painters such as Rembrandt, Rubens and Van Dyck, as well as those by Nicolas Poussin, Murillo and Claude Lorrain. The selection has been made to illustrate Walpole's wide-ranging taste: Italian grand tour Baroque paintings, contemporary paintings and many fine sporting pictures. Walpole also commissioned many contemporary works from living artists; John Wooton painted almost 20 paintings of Walpole, his dogs and horses.

In common with Catherine the Great, Walpole had a passion for buying the very best. They both often bought from famous collections and both had a penchant for large-scale works. Rebuilt during the 1720s with work continuing into the 1730s, Houghton Hall required the original house to be demolished and the village of Houghton to be moved to accommodate the new park. The new Houghton Hall was large and grand in detail; architects including Thomas Ripley, Colen Campbell, James Gibbs and William Kent worked on the design and ensured it could accommodate large-scale paintings and tapestries. The larger works from the Walpole collection form a central part of the Hermitage collection and are too big to travel for the present exhibition.

From the remarkable works in the Somerset House exhibition, it is difficult to believe that Sir Robert Walpole never left England. His collection was, in essence, 'the epitome of the English grand tour taste'. He enjoyed specialising in the works of a particular painter; he eventually owned no less than 13 paintings by Carlo Maratti (1625-1713). Since Walpole was himself busy with affairs of state, he employed learned individuals to purchase on his behalf and make recommendations. Judging by the works on show here, a cohesive collection was, nonetheless, achieved. Individual gems such as Van Dyck's 'Portrait of Philadelphia and Elizabeth Wharton' (1637-39) — a most beautiful image of children — and the lovely 'Mystic Marriage of St Catherine' (c.1610) by Giulio Cesare Procaccini, a relatively lesser known artist, display his eye and his determination to achieve a personal and original collection. Members of the Walpole family (his sons Robert, Edward and Horace, or his brother Horatio) travelled on the Continent where they bought for Sir Robert. He also had secret agents, both for political purposes (to inform him of Jacobite activities abroad) and commercial enterprise. He was not averse to paying over the odds for a painting he very much wanted. In 1734-35 he offered £400 for Poussin's 'Holy Portrait' — the highest price Poussin had attracted — although he eventually got it for £320. For ' The Prodigal Son' by Salvator Rosa's (1615-73) he paid a record price of £500 and for Van Dyck's 'Rest on the Flight into Egypt', £800. This determined largesse is a characteristic of Walpole and his somewhat dramatic life in terms of political action and financial risk and daring.

When he retired from politics, he rationalised the paintings scattered between his London houses and centred on Houghton Hall. He had 150 paintings at No.10 Downing Street alone. There were by 1742 so many works of art that he was forced to build an extension to serve as a picture gallery. The organisation of the collection at Houghton Hall was left to Sir Robert's youngest son, Horatio (Horace). He is best known for his influential Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto; Horace also wrote a catalogue of his father's collection, Aedes Walpolianae (1747-48). In it, he gave a detailed description of the Walpole collection, including interpretative essays as to the spiritual significance of the works and a eulogy to Sir Robert himself. It became a model for cataloguing country house collections for the remainder of the 18th century. It is largely due to the detailed provenances of the pictures and the scholarly attention to detail employed by Horace Walpole that the original collection can be appreciated today, allowing Somerset House to present this current exhibition in such an informed and interesting manner.

When Sir Robert Walpole died in 1745, his considerable debts were passed on to his eldest son, Robert (1701-51) who set about raising capital through the sale of some 130 works from the London houses. The proceeds did not come near to settling the vast debts. Robert only survived his father by six years. The estate — along with its debts — passed to his only son, George (1730-91). George was not level-headed enough to cope with his problematic inheritance; indeed he was prone to crazy pastimes and had a penchant for extravagance. He was described by his uncle Horace as, 'The most selfish man in the world … he loves nobody but himself, yet neglects every view of fortune and ambition … he drinks without inclination - has women - not without inclination … games without attention; is immeasurably obstinate …'.

In short, George spelt disaster for Houghton, which was used for riotous parties and exploited by dubious hangers-on. He then suffered a dramatic mental illness, characterised by long fits of madness and several suicide attempts. The house fell into disrepair and it was left to Horace to attempt to impose a degree of order on to the household. George recovered briefly, plunged suddenly again into his mental oblivion, then eventually recovered, with the firm resolve to sell the Houghton Collection.

In Parliament, moves were afoot to establish a national gallery, so that English artists could learn from Italian, Flemish and French schools of painting. The Houghton collection (recognised as one of the finest in Europe) was identified as the perfect foundation for such an institution. In the view of George Walpole, however, a sale to the government would reduce his profit and so he pursued a private sale. Secret negotiations were made but in due course the story emerged in the Press, where general horror at the prospect of a foreign sale was expressed. Horace despaired in private at the prospect at his father's legacy being destroyed. A vitriolic battle took place: the lawyers described by Horace as ‘villainous’ and even Catherine the Great's sexual appetite was used to define her as an abominable and undeserving recipient of England's finest collection.

Ironically, in 1789, ten years after the collection arrived in Russia, the north wing of Houghton Hall was destroyed by fire. Horace Walpole comforted himself with the fact that the wonderful paintings had, in fact, escaped. 'Painting, Passion and Politics' is an apt title for a spectacular exhibition and an amazing story well told.

Dr Janet McKenzie