Sir Frederic Burton and the controversy of art-historical expertise at the National Gallery, London, in the late nineteenth century

This article draws upon a range of archival materials to present and consider the curatorial practice of Sir Frederic William Burton (1816 – 1900), the third director of the National Gallery, London, between 1874 and 1894.1 The issue of expertise was highly pertinent in this period, since as soon as Burton’s retirement had been announced, the popular and critical press and members of the art-world began to debate the qualities required for a new director. The debate centred around the types of pictures that ought to be acquired for the Gallery and whether an artist or a so-called ‘expert’ (a scholarly connoisseur) would be the best qualified to make these acquisitions. this article will examine Burton’s methods and approach to augmenting the collection and the nature of his directorship through three inter-related issues. The first is his artistic training, which, as will be shown, influenced his priorities for the collection and his assessment of pictures. Burton had trained as a watercolourist from a young age in the Dublin Schools, painting scenes of Irish folk life and later becoming a society portraitist.9 His aesthetic sensitivity was balanced by the second point for examination, namely his concern for the historical value of works of art in the collection, which derived from his interest in antiquarianism and archaeology.10 Thirdly, like Eastlake, Burton was well-acquainted with the history of art through his own travels and private scholarship, although, unlike Eastlake, he did not publish significantly on the subject.11 All three aspects informed Burton’s particular brand of connoisseurship and professional expertise but, as shall be seen, also resulted in purchases that could be regarded as eccentric at best and irrelevant and poor quality at worst. Finally, while Burton was theoretically the Gallery’s sole agent for acquisitions, he was naturally influenced by a network of individuals including advisers, agents, his own trustees, dealers and marchands amateurs. This article will also consider the impact of two of the most influential of these advisers, the dealer and connoisseur, Giovanni Morelli and the artist and dealer, Charles Fairfax Murray.