A long letter appeared in Wednesday's Times from Mr. Maurice
Brockwell questioning the right of the Trustees of the National Gallery to hang the greater part of the Turner collection at Millbank. It is generally known that one of the conditions made by Turner in his will before leaving the pictures to the nation was "that an additional room or rooms be added to the present National Gallery, to be called when erected the Turner Gallery, in which such pictures are to be constantly kept, deposited, and preserved." We confess, however, that we feel no sympathy with those who wish to insist upon these instructions being carried out to the letter. The Tate Gallery is after all a part of the National Gallery, and under the control of the same Trustees. And supposing that the Trafalgar Square Gallery were damaged by fire and it were considered advisable to rebuild it at a distance of fifty yards from the present site, would Mr. Brockwell be of opinion that Turner's will had been set aside P We, at least, have no hesitation in thinking that the splendid arrangement of the pictures in the new Turner wing would have given the deepest satisfaction to the artist himself.
Previous page
