Collecting Continental Old Masters for Harewood House, Yorkshire: British cultural heritage and aristocratic survival, 1916-1947

This thesis examines the proactive collecting of continental old master paintings and drawings undertaken by Henry George Charles Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood (1882–1947) during the first half of the twentieth century, which began from the trenches of the First World War. The 6th Earl’s activities are significant in a number of ways. In the first instance, he was buying art at a time when many aristocrats in Britain were selling individual masterpieces or entire collections as a result of external economic pressures, a process which began in 1882 with the high-profile Hamilton Palace sales. While considerable scholarly attention has been paid to the dominance of American plutocrats over the British market for continental old master paintings during this period, the 6th Earl’s collecting demonstrates that private buyers could still be found in Britain for major works of art. This assessment is reinforced by significant fresh primary research which illustrates the breadth and composition of the 6th Earl’s collection, including, significantly, his acquisition of continental old master drawings, which he used as connoisseurial tools to improve his understanding and appreciation of his paintings.
Set against a backdrop of increased concern in Britain that the nation’s heritage was being lost to America, this thesis investigates the impact of the contemporary notion of cultural heritage upon the 6th Earl’s acquisition and display of art. Specifically, the 6th Earl was acutely conscious that the lack of continental old master paintings at Harewood House, the ancestral country seat of the Lascelles family, betrayed his family’s comparatively recently acquired wealth and nobility. This thesis contends that the 6th Earl’s art collecting was therefore motivated by a desire to enhance his family’s cultural patrimony in order to solidify and communicate their status as members of the aristocracy. His success in this area is indicated by his marriage in 1922 to Princess Mary (1897–1965), thereby becoming the son-in-law of King George V (1865–1936) and securing places for himself and his future heir at the very top of the aristocracy as members of the royal family.
At a time when the value of aristocratic stewardship was being increasingly questioned, the 6th Earl held a number of positions on the governing boards of public art institutions. In particular, through his role in the little-known Sudeley Committee the 6th Earl contributed to significant museum reforms which sought to improve physical and intellectual access to art for working people. Overall, this thesis presents a revised assessment of British private collecting of old masters during the first half of the twentieth century, providing a case study of an aristocrat who defied the economic, political, and social challenges facing members of his class to build a notable art collection and secure social ascendancy.