The Randlords, Art and South Africa
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OLD MASTERS AND ASPIRATIONS: THE RANDLORDS, ART AND SOUTH AFRICA MICHAEL STEVENSON Thesis presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Art History, University of Cape Town, September 1997 University of Cape Town r·~ i.·;:~:t·;:·.:~; s.; Yt.:, :·.; ::,f:~:i·~; L cr In ;)c .. I.. C-·1-o•''::i'" !.:.· !<·.·:~ wY •. .!-.:. w..... •ll.;-!. ,1 t~:-;:;--:-:;_:,--::;-r-:_,_-:--:-.\:.>{<:'-:-'>,:7.-:~~.., ·---:;: ~-._.' •• j":".. • ,·, ::-- -::~ ....--:' ··_ • .:..""·.-:--_--::::;~-:-.'~.:_:JJ The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................. ~ ..................•.•..•....................•......• i CONVENTIONS •...•.•.........•.•••••••••.•..•....................•.....••....••••••••••.•.••..............••••••.••••••••••................••..•••••• vii INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE: SIR JULIUS AND LADY WERNHER ••.•...•.••••.....••.•..••••.•••••.•.•••.•.••.•..•.•.•.•.••• 37 CHAPTER TWO: ALFRED AND SIR OTTO BElT .................................................................. 81 CHAPTER THREE: SIR LIONEL AND LADY PHILLIPS ........................................................ 161 CHAPTER FOUR: SIR MAX MICHAELIS ••••.•.•.•...••••......•••.•.•...•••••••............................••.••••••••• 223 CHAPTER FIVE: SIR JOSEPH ROBINSON ..................•....•.•••.•••••.•................•.•...........•.......•••. 273 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 327 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................••••••..•••..••...••.••.•••.................. ~ ..••...•....•......•••......••..•••.••••.••.........•.•.••.••••..• 331 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................................... 375 APPENDIX 1: INVENTORY OF THE SIR JULIUS WERNHER COLLECTION ........................ 376 APPENDIX 2: INVENTORY OF THE BElT COLLECTION ........................................................ 388 APPENDIX 3: INVENTORY OF THE SIR LIONEL AND LADY PHILLIPS COLLECTION •• 406 APPENDIX 4: INVENTORY OF THE SIR MAX MICHAELIS COLLECTION •........•..•.••••..•..•.. 412 APPENDIX 5: INVENTORY OF THE SIR J.B. ROBINSON COLLECTION .............••..•••••.......• 418 ABSTRACT In the last three decades of the nineteenth century, a small group of capitalists, many of whom were from middle-class German-Jewish backgrounds, made vast fortunes from exploiting deposits of gold and diamonds in South Africa, using local labour. These mining magnates accumulated their wealth first in Kimberley in the 1870s and, later, in Johannesburg in the late 1880s. Thereafter, most of them moved to Britain, where they lived for the rest of their lives. By the mid-1890s, as their aspirations became increasingly pronounced, the term 'Randlords' was coined in the London press to describe them. In this study, I have used this collective term in reference to the men who took part in the rough-and-tumble scramble for gold and diamonds before adopting an upper class lifestyle in Britain. Critical discussion of almost all the Randlord collections is hampered by the scarcity of primary material relating to the formation of their collections and, in some cases, even to what was in them. A point of departure for this thesis therefore was to reconstruct an inventory for each of the collections. These inventories (which are included as appendices) list each painting in the collection, possible changes in its attribution (where this is known), its title, its provenance (from whom and when the painting was purchased, and at what price), the present-day whereabouts of the painting (where this is known), and, wherever possible, an appropriate reference to the painting in a catalogue raisonne or sale catalogue or, in the absence of the latter, in the art historical literature. The thesis is primarily concerned with the manner in which the identities of the Randlords were shaped and redefined through the acquisition of works of art and other material goods. It demonstrates that their eventual efforts to construct new upper-class identities were strenuous and pronounced. An integral component of this strategy to assert their social position was to participate in the accumulation and display of highly symbolic goods and properties to convey their new-found status in Britain. Throughout this thesis, the Randlords' acquisition of art is treated as one facet of their conspicuous · consumption. In keeping with this argument, the purchase and furnishing of country 11 houses, lavish expenditure on entertaining, the ownership of town houses, and the acquisition of titles are considered in relation to their an collections. The introduction includes a survey of the literature on the Randlords, a brief overview of the history of their involvement in the South African mining industry, an overview of their collections, and the context in which they assembled these collections. This is followed by five chapters focusing on the collections of Sir Julius and Lady Wernher, Alfred Beit and his brother Sir Otto, Sir Max and Lady Michaelis, Sir Lionel and Lady Phillips and Sir Joseph (and Lady Robinson). A range of issues are foregrounded in each of these chapters. For example, the widespread preference for seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish paintings is considered in the Beit chapter, and for eighteenth century British portraits in the Beit and Robinson chapters. The limited interest in Italian and Renaissance paintings is explored in the Wernher and Robinson chapters, and the strong interest in eighteenth-century French furniture is discussed in the Wernher chapter. Issues relating to philanthropy are discussed in the Michaelis and Phillips chapters, and the Randlords' connections to South Africa are explored through an examination of Michaelis' gift of Dutch and Flemish pictures to the Union of South Africa in 1912, and through Lady Phillips' involvement in founding an art gallery in Johannesburg in 1909. The thesis argues that works of att served a range of functions for the Randlords - acting as a store of wealth, providing public confirmation of the extent of th~alth, and in this way, assisting them in realising their social aspirations. Ill ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Over the past few years many people, both in South Africa and abroad, have generously assisted me with information and ideas. In the footnotes I gratefully acknowledge those individuals who have answered specific queries. In addition to these, many others have been supportive of my research. Firstly, the descendants of the Randlords have, in almost all instances, provided me with any information at their disposal. The late Sir Alfred Beit and Lady Beit, and their nephew, Neil Munro, have been particularly supportive of my research, as were the late Cecil Michaelis and Lady Newman. I would · also like to thank Count Labia for allowing me to see the Robinson papers. Two historians of two of the Randlord families have shared their research with me: Jeremy Lawrence, whose forthcoming biography on Sir J.B. Robinson will offer many new perspectives on this Randlord, and Raleigh Trevelyan, who wrote a biography on the Wemher family. Some of the other people who have facilitated my research include William Agnew, formerly of Agnew's, London, who repeatedly arranged access to the company's remarkable archive; Maryna Fraser and Di Arnott, who provided every assistance at the Barlow Rand archives in Johannesburg; Dr Jom Grabowski and Frau B. Gotze of the Zentralarchiv at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, who went far beyond the call of duty in regularly sending me photocopies of Bode papers; Jeremy Rex-Parkes of the Christie's archives, who was always prepared to assist with obscure sale information; Donald Garstang of Colnaghi's, London, for use of the finn's early letter books; Simon Edsor of the Fine Arts Society, London, for allowing me to see their early ledgers; J.R. Milne, of Grosvenor Estate Holdings, for permitting me to use the Grosvenor Estate papers; Dr Jenns E. Howoldt, for his lengthy correspondence relating to Beit's involvement in the Hamburger Kunsthalle; Jillian Carman of the Johannesburg Art Gallery, whose kindness knows no bounds; Zena Dickinson of the Luton Hoo Foundation for access to the Wemher collection papers; Miss Jooste of the Library of Parliament, Cape Town; Dr Hans Fransen of the Michaelis Collection, Cape Town; Dr Susan Foister and Dr Gabriele Finaldi of the National Gallery, London; Michael Wynne of the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, for information about the Beit collection; IV Karel Schoeman and the librarians at the ever-helpful reference desk at the South African Library in Cape Town for on-going assistance; Hayden Proud of the South African National Gallery, Cape Town, for arranging access to the minute books; and Joey Anderson for assistance in the library and with the extraordinary newspaper cutting collection at the same institution; Adrian Glew of the Tate