1829.] Affairs in Genet-al. 91 



The British Institution has opened its gates again, and with a very 

 fine collection. The private view — for, as Lord Petersham (the rising 

 star of wit) says, every man, in a certain rank, has his " private views" 

 ■ — atti-adted all the elite of purchasers, painters, contributors, and 

 connoisseurs. The present collection, however, is one where the 

 purchase has been already made, and consists of selections from galleries. 

 At the head of the list of contributors is his Majesty, who has sent to 

 the institution no less than thirteen pictures, among which are some of 

 the finest productions of Teniers, Claude, Vanderneer, Gerrard Douw, 

 Vandyke, IMieris, Schiavone, Tintoretto, Guercino, &c. To the King 

 the British Institution has been greatly indebted, not only for the 

 anxiety invariably shown to promote its objects, but for the readiness 

 with which he has always submitted the choicest specimens of his 

 collection to public view. Claude, the property of his Majesty, is a 

 beautifid picture, and will form a valuable and interesting subject for 

 those artists who will, in a short time, be enabled to copy this and the 

 other works deposited in this institution. 



It is in this point of view that the institution may be regarded as con- 

 ferring benefit. Its principal object is to afford originals of such merit 

 as shall contribute to form or improve the style of the rising arts of our 

 own counti-y. 



To all and every thing of the kind we wish well ; but we have been 

 long of opinion, that half the money expended by the British Institution, 

 in a very trifling way, would do great good to the arts by being expended 

 in a very obviovis and by no means a trifling way. Fifty pounds to one 

 painter, and fifty pounds to another, does no good to the art, nor to the 

 artist. The payment of an exorbitant sum now and then to an exorbitant 

 picture-dealer, does the very reverse of good ; and when we have looked 

 at some of the foreign purchases of the National Gallery, we have 

 wondered what had become of the eyes of the noble purchasers, much 

 more than we should wonder at any thing that might become of the 

 necks of the sellers. 



Let those noble personages, instead of going on from year to year in 

 the same- smiling round of congratulating each other on the " splendid 

 display" of cats and dogs, of dead game and old women, on their walls, 

 order pictures of a certain size from the English history for the chief 

 public buildings. The French kings do this, and undoubtably thus do 

 more for the progress of the art, than if they bought every picture from 

 Milan to Naples. An application to parliament for four or five thousands 

 a-year, would not be refused ; and men of real ability would be stimu- 

 lated into the exertion of their old powers, and the discovery of new. 

 Some bad pictures of course would be mingled with the good, but this 

 would not last long. The talent for painting seems, instead of being the 

 rarest, the most common of human gifts. Out of a hundred boys, 

 ninety shew a natural turn for drawing. Even in point of commerce, 

 the arts of England might easily repay this expenditure ; and ten years 

 would not elapse before performances would be produced which would 

 at once do lionour to the national talent, and to the liberality and good 

 sense which had at last taken the true way for its encouragement. We 

 know that orders for painting public pictures have been given from 

 time to time by the Institution, but they were few, and exclusive. We 

 desire to see them many, and general. ^ 



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