Sue Wilkes: A Palladian gem

Sue Wilkes: A Palladian gem
I wrote articles on Sir John Leicester and Turner and on Tabley. The latest book on Turner by Sam Smiles incorrectly says that the whole of Sir John's collection was sold at his death. The remnant deserves to be better known. www.jmwturner.org

The Barnes has had the inestimable advantage of a building which is unique and uniquely suited to its collection. Too many public galleries have an awful sameness about them. The tragedy of the Turner Bequest in London is that it has never been housed appropriately, but only in the unsuitable wings built under the auspices of Duveen and Clore. (www.jmwturner.org ). There is also the question of place. Some collections are suited to particular places and cannot be wilfully uprooted and planted anywhere that happens to be convenient without damage to their identity. The recent history of the Barnes is an illustration of what happens when the philistines get control.