Catalogue of an exhibition held at the RA, Autumn 2003.
Naturally this show was universally panned: there are still plenty of
neo-Bloomsberry journalists ready to rubbish 19th-century art and, in
combination with Lloyd Webber, arch-populist composer and impresario, the target
was too big to resist. Had his lordship made his money from something culturally
neutral, maybe arms dealing, then his merits as an art collector might have been
more soberly assessed.
In mere financial terms, you have to give him credit for assembling the nucleus
of his collection at a time when you could buy a Leighton with your pocket-money. Famously,
that's exactly Lloyd Webber did; as prices rose, his pockets have conveniently
deepened and, despite the critics, he has continued to buy the Victorians.
This is an extraordinary collection for one person to have assembled in the 21st
century -- whatever you think of the musicals.
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