HAMPTON COURT, ITS PALACE AND PICTURES.
Mr. Henry Cole has just given private circulation to a miniature fasciculus, expressing "Some Thoughts on Hampton Court Palace, its Pictures, Tapestries, and other Works of Decorative Art," which deserve attention, prompt and practical. At present the Palace is little better than a store-house for an heterogeneous collection of valuable works belonging to the crown and the public ; and it is a bad storehouse. Not in itself, but in the present non-system. "The Tapestries forming the original decoration of the walls, as in the Queen's gallery and elsewhere, have been covered up, and the pictures hung almost at haphazard. In some cases pictures have been actually nailed to the tapestries. Models and remains of funeral decorations have been placed in the rooms. In very few instances are the pictures seen well. The metal work and wood carvings require looking to." The pictures collected at Hampton Court are thus classified by Mr. Cole-
" 1. Furniture Pictures, which for a long period have formed part of the decorations of the Palace, and are in some cases fitted into panels on the walls.
"2. Pictures more interesting as historical or decorative illustrations than as Works of Fine Art, such as The Battle of Pavia,' The Battle of the Spurs,' 'Embarkation of Henry VIII. from Dover,' &c.
"3. Portraits of persons eminent in English History. "4. Portraits of foreigners of distinction. "5. Pictures of a technical interest, such as hulls of ships, dockyards, architecture, decoration, &c.
"6. Works of Fine Arts."
Mr. Cole suggests a total change of the arrangements.
"Hampton Court Palace would be a much more attractive public sight if the rooms were restored as much as possible to their original state of decora- tion. In many rooms this could be done by simply taking down the battens and faded calico which conceal the Tapestry. The Tapestries themselves would be much more interesting to the public than the present incongruous arrangement of pictures, for the proper display of which the lighting is rarely suitable." Of the pictures "classes from 1 to 4 should be retained at Hampton Court Palace, and, where necessary, screens and other improved arrange- ments should be adopted for exhibiting them. As respects the technical pictures (class 5) those on nautical subjects, for instance, would be all the more interesting if publicly exhibited with models of ships, of which there is a public collection at the Admiralty. The architectural pictures with arolutectural models, and so on. As respects the Pictures of Fine Arts, they are obviously out of place at Hampton Court. They. . . . should be brought to the Metropolis; where they would be much better preserved, where the facilities for making them available for public instruction would be greatly increased, and all classes of the public infinitely more benefited than by 'leaving them at Hampton Court Palace, which is visited by the great majority of persons as a Palace in the country having beautiful gardens, rather than for the study of Works of Fine Art.
The sole qualification of this proposal which we should be disposed to discuss is, the removal of the pictures in class 3 to the National Portrait Gallery. By these arrangements, the whole property, Palace and all, would be rendered much more available as sources of improvements and enjoyment for the public. At present there is divided jurisdiction between the Lord Chamberlain as the representative of her Majesty, and the Board of Works as having the material custody and responsibility for the repairs of the building, and controlling the admission to the public ; departments which have no tech- nical knowledge or special interest in Works of Art as such. Many other institutions also need a more systematic and responsible system of care taking, and Mr. Cole suggests "that a small Committee of Consul- tation, consisting of three artists, with one chemist and one amateur, be appointed to determine what measures should be taken for the preserva- tion of all Works of Art" belonging to the public, their proper custody, lodgment, &c. Let Mr. Cole pursue this mission-one of the best he ever took up.
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