Catalogue of drawings and pictures owned by Thomas Kerrich

KER

Catalogue of drawings and pictures owned by Thomas Kerrich

c 1805

Fonds

12 pages.

Transcript made by Freeman Marius O’Donoghue, FSA from Thomas Kerrich’s manuscript catalogue of pictures and drawings belonging to him. It is believed that Kerrich wrote the catalogue in 1805. (Kerrich mentions April 1805 as ‘the present date’ on p.12) It contains details of 28 pictures then in his possession.

The transcript represents the only surviving source for the provenances Kerrich gives for the pictures which he bequeathed to the Society, and the dates he acquired them.

When O’Donoghue wrote the transcript the original manuscript was in the possession of Albert Hartshorne, grandson to Kerrich. We don’t know when O’Donoghue (1849-1929) made the transcript. He (Assistant Keeper in the Department of Prints and Drawings of the British Museum ‘for many years’) says on p. 12 of it that Kerrich’s manuscript ‘is in the possession’ of Albert Hartshorne (1839-1910). Hartshorne became an FSA in 1882, so we can assume O’Donoghue made the transcript after he himself became a fellow and before Hartshorne’s death, i.e. ‘c1887-c1910’. O’Donoghue noted that Hartshorne also had in his possession a note-book in which Kerrich recorded his “experiments on old pictures as to the cleaning and repairing of them.” Both the manuscript and the notebook are now lost.

Paintings listed in the catalogue (titles written as O’Donoghue transcribed them; the LDSAL numbers given in brackets are the Society’s accession numbers):
1. Charlemagne (LDSAL 319)
2. Ferdinand 5, King of Spain (LDSAL 323)
3. Lewis XII of France (LDSAL 324)
4. Francis I of France (LDSAL 325)
5. Edward IV of England (LDSAL 320)
6. Richard III (LDSAL 321)
7. John (?) King of Denmark & (Spain) Sweden (LDSAL326)
8. M. de Nassau (LDSAL 327)
9. M. de Ravenstein (LDSAL 328)
Numbering changes (O’Donoghue’s list then gives the Scharf number of each)
I. An ancient picture from the Holy Land (LDSAL 316)
XI. Three very ancient tables, each containing two pictures of the life of Saint
Etheldreda (LDSAL 317a and 317b) Only two were given to the Society in 1828
XII. The Martyrdom of St. Erasmus (LDSAL 318)
XIII Philip the Good. Duke of Burgundy (LDSAL 322)
XIV. A very ancient picture of a man unknown (LDSAL 339)
XVI. Henry 6 (LDSAL330)
XX. Richard 3 *not included in Kerrich’s bequest; whereabouts unknown. This is not Scharf XX as stated in O’Donoghue’s list
XIX. Margaret of York (LDSAL 514) *not included in Kerrich’s bequest in 1828; given by his son in 1849
XXI. K. Richard 3 (LDSAL 331)
XXII. Henry VII (LDSAL 329)
XXIII. Henry VII (LDSAL 332)
XXVI. Mary, Queen of Hungary (LDSAL 340)
XXXIV. King Henry 8 (LDSAL 334) (incorrect Scharf number given on O’Donoghue’s transcription)
XXXVI. His Queen ? (LDSAL 335)
XXXV. Henry 8 (LDSAL 333) (incorrect Scharf number given on O’Donoghue’s transcription)
XXXVII. Queen Mary (LDSAL 336)
XXXVIII. John Schorel (LDSAL 338)
XXXIX. A Gentleman – a round picture (LDSAL 337)
XL. Sir Willam Pawlet, M. of Winchester (LDSAL 341) *not included in Kerrich’s bequest in 1828; given by his son in 1844

Thomas Kerrich bequeathed 25 panel paintings to the Society of Antiquaries in 1828 (St Ethedreda is treated as one painting). A further three were given by his son in 1844 and 1849, including the canvas ‘Charles Fleetwood’ (LDSAL 342) which had belonged to Thomas Kerrich but was apparently not included in his manuscript catalogue. The Society now owns 28 pictures formerly belonging to Thomas Kerrich.

O'Donoghue, Freeman Marius (1849-1929), author and museum curator
Kerrich, Thomas (1748-1828), clergyman, librarian, antiquarian and artist

MS 1022

‘Presents to the Society’, Archaeologia vol. xxii, 1829, 441-54: an annotated list of the 25 pictures in the Kerrich bequest, recording that two of the three panels of St Etheldreda were given, and omitting ‘Margaret of York’, ‘Sir William Paulet’ and ‘Charles Fleetwood’.

A Catalogue of the pictures belonging to the Society of Antiquaries of London, by George Scharf, 1864.

LDSAL319
O86757
LDSAL323
O86762
LDSAL324
O86763
LDSAL325
O86764
LDSAL320
O86759
LDSAL321
O86760
LDSAL326
O86765
LDSAL327
O86766
LDSAL328
O86767
LDSAL316
O86754
LDSAL317
O86755
LDSAL318
O86756
LDSAL322
O86761
LDSAL339
O86779
LDSAL330
O86770
LDSAL514
O87036
LDSAL331
O86771
LDSAL329
O86768
LDSAL332
O86772
LDSAL340
O86781
LDSAL334
O86774
LDSAL335
O86775
LDSAL333
O86773
LDSAL336
O86776
LDSAL338
O86778
LDSAL337
O86777
LDSAL341
O86782