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This institution also provides a list of works with incomplete provenance during the period 1933-1945.
BRISTOL MUSEUMS & ART GALLERY
Designated collection
Queen's Road
Bristol
BS8 1RL
CONTACT
Ray Barnett, Collections Manager
Tel: 0117 922 3600
Fax: 0117 922 2047
E-mail: ray_barnett@bristol-city.gov.uk
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF COLLECTION
The collection is divided into the following curatorial sections:
. Applied Art
. British Archaeology
. Eastern Art and Culture
. Ethnography and Foreign Archaeology
. Fine Art
. Geology
. Industrial and Maritime History
. Natural History
. Social History
The Geology, Eastern Art and City of Bristol collections are all designated in their own right.
1. OVERALL PLANS
PARTS OF COLLECTION EXCLUDED
A large percentage of the collections described above would fall into the excluded categories for the following reasons:
. Acquired before 1933 or created after 1945
. Collections of British provenance and British archaeological and natural science collections
. Items that are non-unique, or have a low value, are considered low priority.
INITIAL FOCUS FOR RESEARCH
The collection of Fine Art comprises over 18,000 paintings, drawings and watercolours, prints and sculptures. In six picture galleries, about 200 oil paintings are displayed from the permanent collection (total 1200) at the City Museum & Art Gallery and others are shown at branch museums, particularly the Red Lodge, the Georgian House and Blaise Castle House Museum. Bristol's collection covers a wide field with many fine examples of the work of eminent artists of both the British and European Schools. However, the vast majority of the Fine Art collections represent the work of British artists and have comprehensive British provenance. The European collections are considered to be those where issues of spoliation could possibly arise and so these have been the focus of the initial research.
The French School, displayed in one gallery, includes works by Eugène Delacroix, Gustave Courbet, Odilon Redon, Edouard Vuillard, Georges Seurat, Eva Gonzalès, Baron Gros, Alfred Sisley, Auguste Renoir, and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. It is acknowledged as one of the finest in a provincial gallery and is notable for its more unusual works. Earlier paintings include the Le Nain Brothers, Jean Baptiste Monnoyer, and Etienne Rendu.
The 'Old Masters' gallery is strong in the Italian and Dutch Schools, with some Flemish and German paintings. Examples include Taddeo Gaddi, Giovanni Bellini, Giovanni Battista Crespi, Bernardo Bellotto, Nicholaes Berchem, Pieter Codde, Jakob Ruisdael, Jakob Jordaens and Lucas Cranach.
A large collection of works on paper, which includes European prints, is the Heber Mardon collection (4700 works). As well as local material, mainly late 19th-century views of Bristol, there are many Old Master and 18th-century engravings. Although many are not of outstanding quality and are essentially reproductions of paintings, there are original prints of interest such as two Canaletto etchings.
TIMESCALE FOR RESEARCH
Initial work on the European collections of fine art commenced with the paintings on display in the two galleries of the European schools (French and 'Old Masters') as these are the paintings of highest quality. There are approximately seventy paintings on display and of those, two dozen had incomplete provenances for the years 1933-1945. Further research will concentrate on European paintings which are displayed in the Red Lodge and Georgian House and paintings which are in store and not currently on display.
Ongoing cataloguing work on the oriental and applied art collections has so far revealed no areas of concern. This work continues.
2. RESEARCH PLANNED IN TARGET AREAS
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Registration Phase II was awarded on condition that all collections are inventoried and catalogued. To this end, all collections are being inventoried onto a new database system. In addition, the provenances of the European collection of paintings is being checked using the comprehensive catalogue cards which already exist and the historical files containing acquisition details. Historical files (museum archive) are kept in a strong room and usually contain all the correspondence relating to an acquisition. There is sometimes a discussion of provenance between the vendor and the museum. When the object was acquired, a full catalogue card was completed and - especially in the 1950s and 1960s - the curator was able to undertake research on provenance.
3. INFORMATION ON MAKING GENERAL ENQUIRIES ABOUT COLLECTION
As above.
PRESS OFFICE CONTACT DETAILS
Heather Sharrock
Tel: 0117 922 3332
Fax: 0117 922 4330
E-mail: heather_sharrock@bristol-city.gov.uk