Soane danger
Sir: If Soane has been betrayed, so have others. Soane designed the anteroom for the gallery in Chantrey's house to show the latter's models and sculptures. Lady Chan- trey gave all the models to the Ashmolean Museum on condition that it provided a gallery for them. Not only has that never been done, but in the last war, I believe, to make space for other things in store most of the figures were smashed, leaving only the heads.
A friend of both Soane and Chantrey, Turner willed that his bequest be housed somewhere to be called 'Turner's Gallery'. Instead it is to be placed partly in the 'Clore Gallery'. The Tate, perhaps because of a bad conscience over this, has recently established a 'Turner Prize' which it admits has nothing to do with Turner. More importantly, Turner willed that his pictures be kept together as one entire collection. But instead part will be at the Tate Gallery and part at the National Gallery. The
latter, selecting that part of the will saying it should be adjoining the National Gal- lery, has chosen this as a mandate to give most away elsewhere, keep some of the cream for itself and to split the bequest contrary to the clear intention of the will. So Turner's wish for a 'Turner's Gallery' has once more been thwarted.
Ironically some of his contemporaries tried to persuade Soane that his collection would be much better as part of the British Museum (of which it was also argued the National Gallery should be a part) and not in the house he had adapted for it. This was but one instance of museum imperialism which still flourishes today with the Tate taking over the Walker Art Gallery, the Turners at Petworth House, and the Bar- bara Hepworth Museum. In his memoirs Sir John Rothenstein described the relief (more his than the artist's, one guesses, contrary to what he says) of Mr Henry Moore at the idea of his works being all transferred to the Tate instead of forming a museum at his home. Happily Mr Moore has changed his mind. But how can we be sure that the provisions for the Moore Foundation will not be arbitrarily altered in years to come?
Selby Whittingham
153 Cromwell Road, London SW5
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