Country House Collections: Their Lives and Afterlives

by Terence Dooley (Editor), Christopher Ridgway PhD (Editor)

Overview

This volume of essays explores a range of country house collections in Ireland, the UK, the US, and Europe. It examines how collections were built up over time, how they were dispersed or destroyed, and how they have been interpreted and valued. Among the topics considered are the impact of exhibitions, auctions, and tax systems, private versus institutional collectors, the range of audiences who appreciate art, and how collections are made to tell national stories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781846829758
Publisher:	Four Courts Press
Publication date:	11/19/2021
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Terence Dooley is director of the Centre for Historic Irish Houses and Estates, Maynooth University. Christopher Ridgway is curator at Castle Howard in Yorkshire.

Table of Contents

Foreword Mary Heffernan 7

Introduction 11

Part I Assembling and Dispersing

1 'I thought everyone tries to get pieces out of there, not in': collecting for the Irish country house, c. 1950-2020 William Laffan 21

2 Carton House and its contents: collection and dispersal in context, 1729-1949 Terence Dooley 45

3 'A course of wandering picture hunting': George Scharf's survey of English country house collections, 1856-7 Philip Cottrell 81

4 New walls for old pictures: the Castle Howard bequest to the National Gallery Christopher Ridgway 102

5 Conspiracies of silence: contextualizing value at country house contents auctions in inter-war England Elena Porter 141

6 The rise and decline of the country house sale, 1977-2020: from Mentmore to Chatsworth - a personal reflection James Miller 156

7 Checks and balances: respecting private owners and protecting the national heritage Wendy Philips 173

8 The library at Marlfield, Co. Tipperary: its creation and destruction Robert O'Byrne 186

Part II Contexts and Reinterpretations

9 'It was voted to refurnish the house as far as possible'; alternate approaches to country house collections in America Stephen Hague 203

10 Transforming Farmleigh: from private residence to national treasure Judith Hill 222

11 Hillsborough Castle and gardens: creating a modern collection Christopher Warleigh-Lack 241

12 'Selling the family silver' - and returning it home: the history of plate collections and their display in National Trust houses James Rothwell 258

13 Country house collections and museums in Lithuania: a tale of cultural appropriation Salvijus Kulevicius 270

14 Private archives in the Irish country house: a personal perspective Lesley Whiteside 284

Notes on Contributors 302

List of Illustrations 305

Index 311