Vernon Gift

The Canal of the Guidecca, and the Church of the Gesuati, Venice by Clarkson Stanfield, 1836. Vernon collected works by popular British contemporary artists such as Stanfield.

The Vernon Gift was a major donation of artworks by the British art collector Robert Vernon, presented to the nation in 1847. It initiated a wave of public donations during the Victorian era

Vernon, a wealthy businessman and noted collector, was a prominent supporter of contemporary British art. He often bought his works from the annual exhibitions of the Royal Academy and the British Institution. In total he presented 166 works from his collection to the nation. He died the following year. Notable painters whose works he donated include John Constable, William Etty, Joshua Reynolds, Clarkson Stanfieldand J.M.W. Turner.

The donation formed the basis of the British collection of the National Gallery. This represented a significant shift, as when the Gallery has been established in 1824 it featured a single painting by a contemporary artist David Wilkie's The Village Holiday. Later many of the paintings were transferred to the Tate Britain in Pimlico.

Gallery

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  The First Interview Between the Spaniards and the Peruvians by Henry Perronet Briggs
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  Juliet and Her Nurse by Henry Perronet Briggs
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  Entrance to Pisa from Leghorn by Augustus Wall Callcott
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  Littlehampton Pier by Augustus Wall Callcott
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  The Valley Farm by John Constable
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  The Imprudence of Candules by William Etty
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  Youth on the Prow, and Pleasure at the Helm by William Etty
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  Window in Venice During a Festa by William Etty
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  Musidora by Thomas Gainsborough
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  The Battle of Borodino by George Jones
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  Godiva Preparing to Ride through Coventry by George Jones
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  Highland Music by Edwin Landseer
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  The Hunted Stag by Edwin Landseer
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  High Life by Edwin Landseer
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  Low Life by Edwin Landseer
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  The Cavalier's Pets by Edwin Landseer
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  Malvolio and the Countess by Daniel Maclise
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  The Play Scene in Hamlet by Daniel Maclise
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  Crossing the Ford by William Mulready
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  The Last In by William Mulready
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  Returning from the Ale House by William Mulready
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  Portrait of Robert Vernon by Henry William Pickersgill
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  The Age of Innocence by Joshua Reynolds
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  Old London Bridge by Samuel Scott
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  Lake Como by Clarkson Stanfield
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  Oude Scheld – Texel Island by Clarkson Stanfield
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  The Golden Bough by J.M.W. Turner
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  The Dogana, San Giorgio, Citella, from the Steps of the Europa by J.M.W. Turner
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  The Prince of Orange Landing at Torbay by J.M.W. Turner
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  Bridge of Sighs, Ducal Palace and Custom House by J.M.W. Turner
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  The Disgrace of Lord Clarendon by Edward Matthew Ward
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  The South Sea Bubble by Edward Matthew Ward
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  Newsmongers by David Wilkie
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  The Peep-o'-Day Boys' Cabin by David Wilkie
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  Lake Avernus and the Island of Capri by Richard Wilson

See also

• Turner Bequest, a major 1851 donation enacted in 1856
• Sheepshanks Gift, a major 1857 donation to the Victoria and Albert Museum

Bibliography

• Conlin, Jonathan. The Nation's Mantelpiece: A History of the National Gallery. : National Galleries of Scotland, 2006.
• Hamilton, James. A Strange Business:Making Art and Money in Nineteenth-Century Britain. Atlantic Books, 2014.
• Noon, Patrick & Bann, Stephen. Constable to Delacroix: British Art and the French Romantics. Tate, 2003.
• Poole, Andrew Geddes. Stewards of the Nation's Art: Contested Cultural Authority 1890–1939. University of Toronto Press, 2010.