An important picture by Franz Hale has been bought for
225,000 by the Trustees of the National Gallery. It is a large family group, and comes from the collection of Lord Talbot of Malahide. It has been for many years at lifalahide, near Dublin, where it was recently discovered by Mr. Buttery, the well-known picture-cleaner. Mr. Buttery, with a public spirit for which he deserves the greatest credit, made no attempt to profit privately by his expert knowledge, but reported his find to Sir Charles Holroyd. The price is certainly high, though it is, perhaps, not out of proportion to the prices which Hals'a pictures have been fetching lately. An important Franz Hale was required for the Gallery, and we can believe that the Trustees were right not to let slip this opportunity of getting one. Public judgment will be reserved, however, till more is known of the picture. The purchase will absorb the normal annual grant to the Gallery for three years, but we hope that private subscriptions will come to the rescue and justify the bargain.
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