Hidden treasure
Both Christie's and Sotheby's end their auction seasons at the beginning of August, starting afresh in early October. During those arid summer months, however, a few other auctioneers continue to hold sales of works of art. Viewing one of these on a hot summer's afternoon I noticed on the floor a picture described in the auctioneer's catalogue as a portrait of an unknown naval officer. The sitter I recognised as Lord Nelson, although the quality and condition of the paint suggested that it was a late nineteenth-century copy of no great value. But as Nelson has always been the hero of my two sons I decided to bid for the picture. Having bought it for them for £180, I took it to a well-known picture restorer for cleaning and revarnishing. Later that afternoon the restorer telephoned to let me know that, having tested the surface of the paint, he was convinced that an earlier picture lay hidden beneath the modern paint. In those circumstances he asked whether I would be prepared to take the gamble of allowing him to remove the whole of the very extensive overpainting in order to discover what was underneath. I took the plunge and told him to go ahead. What emerged was a vivid and spontaneous oil study of Nelson, clearly done from life, showing the artist's own alterations as he developed his ideas in front of his sitter. I thought I recognised the hand as that of Sir William Beechey, RA, and that it could be the sketch for the artist's full-length portrait of Nelson which hangs in St Andrew's Hall, Norwich.
Experts from the National Portrait Gallery and the National Maritime Museum confirmed my opinion and came to the conclusion that the sketch must have been painted by Beechey in the winter of 1800-1801, just before the Battle of Copenhagen. It turned out to be of the greatest national importance, being the only direct life study of Nelson by Beechey known to exist. In these circumstances I felt that it should be readily accessible to the public and was honoured to lend it to the National Portrait Gallery in London. There it has hung since I bought it in 1966.
A few years later the Gallery acquired Romney's beautiful life sketch of Lady Hamilton. The two pictures now hang happily side by side.
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