ART.
111.E SHEPHERD GALLERIES.
IN any survey of the week space must be found for the mention of a loss which art-lovers in London have sustained this Michaelmas quarter. The Shepherd Gallery in King Street, St. James's, has closed its doors. This was one of the few galleries in London, perhaps the only one, which had something of the homeliness as well as something of the fastidiousness of the Georgian school of art dealers. The Shepherd brothers were always there themselves, and picture- seeing and picture-dealing in these quiet red rooms had the air of respectfulness towards the pictures, towards the clients, towards the gallery, that cannot easily be described ; but everyone felt it. Although the scale of their exhibitions and the unfailing presence of many works of the first water were metropolitan, the gallery had the personal feeling and the friendly restfulness of a place in a county town. At their spring exhibitions of Old English pictures there were always delightful, interesting, and sometimes tantalizing examples of early British masters. Wilson, Creme, Cotman, Ward, Dance, Ibbetson were sure to be there in little-known, sometimes unknown, examples; here Reynolds's early portrait of Commodore Keppel and Gainsborongh's lovely copy of Van Dyck's Charles the First, and Raeburn's overpowering Admiral Dean (now in the National Gallery of Australia) made their astonishing appearances; here also were seen Highmore, Thornhill, Riley, Dobson, and lesser-known men like Richard Brompton, whose fine portrait of John Home Tooke (now in the Manchester City collection) excited so much speculation this year. Many dim reputations were made to gleam through examples before the world here, and many fine but not masterly pictures were taken away from the great names that they bad borne, and credit was given through Messrs. Shepherd's researches to the humbler sources where it was due. Through, these dealers many interesting pictures found their way into the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Gallery, the Scottish National Gallery, and many other public collections. The business in King Street has existed for thirty-five years, and they did particularly valuable service in the earlier half of that time in rescuing and giving first-aid to old English pictures at a time when they were not greatly esteemed. Owing to the ill-health of one of the brothers it has been decided to bring an end to the business which has for so many years provided each spring one of the most delightful exhibitions in London. The good wishes of many people of widely differing circumstances will follow Messrs.
Previous page
