THE LANSDOWNE REMBRANDT.
[To SKI EDITOR or THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Call no picture safe in England until it is in the National Gallery. An American collector has offered Lord Lansdowne 2100,000 for Rembrandt's "The Mill," and Lord Lansdowne has offered to the nation the first refusal of the picture, giving the authorities six weeks to decide the matter. Sir Charles Holroyd has said that no sum was mentioned in Lord Lansdowne's letter to the Board of the National Gallery, but," as Lord Lansdowne has agreed to contribute 25,000 towards the purchase, this is taken to mean that the price is 295,000. In the opinion of those closely concerned in the market for Old Masters, the price may be called a moderate one for such a supreme manifestation of human genius as "The Mill." From the collector's point of view, into which size of the work and rarity of the subject also enter, it is probably the most desirable picture in the world. The price of Rembrandt's "The Polish Rider," which Messrs. Carfas sold last year to an American collector, was 200,000. A strong effort is being made to raise the money from the group of wealthy art-lovers who have already given abundant proof of their generosity and public spirit, and the Government has been approached for assistance. Unhappily, the prices of master- pieces nowadays make this a matter in which the art-lover of moderate means can do little. In the case of the Norfolk Holbein, the reply to the National Art Collections Fund's appeal fell short by 245,000, but a munificent donor, who is still anonymous, gave a cheque for the amount and made the purchase possible. I am not without hope that such a miracle may happen: again. The picture was last seen in London in 1899. I venture to suggest that Lord Lansdowne should be approached to allow his picture to be exhibited during the period of grace at the National Gallery, to plead its own cause to the nation.—I am, Sir, &c., B.
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