Irish have ‘moral claim’ to Lane’s masterpieces, British (privately) admit
But after a century-long row, works from Hugh Lane’s trove remain in UK
‘Skimmed the cream of collection’
IRELAND has a ‘moral claim’ to a priceless cache of impressionist paintings, including world-famous works by Renoir, Monet and Manet, its British keepers privately admitted, according to archive files released under the 30-year rule.
Declassified papers show top-level negotiators from the National Gallery in London ‘verbally’ agreed Ireland’s right to the 39 works at the centre of a row more than 40 years ago.
Hugh Lane, the Irish art collector who died on board the Lusitania when it was torpedoed 18km off Kinsale in 1915, originally left the collection to London. But it was later discovered he had written a codicil, or amendment, to his will shortly before his death, stating he had changed his mind and instead bequeathed the paintings to Ireland.
The codicil was signed but not witnessed and the National Gallery in London has claimed legal owner-
ship of the collection.
between The century-long Britain and Ireland falling-out over the collection became a nationalist cause célèbre, with WB Yeats and Lady Gregory, Hugh Lane’s aunt, calling for his final wishes to be honoured.
The ongoing fight to have the works returned to Ireland was overseen personally by the then taoiseach, a confidential file released under the 30-year rule shows.
It reveals that James White, former director of the National Gallery of Ireland and chief negotiator for the Irish side for decades, reporting to then taoiseach Jack Lynch in 1979 about a 14-year agreement loaning many of the works to Ireland.
In the letter, dated September 19, Mr White boasts of having succeeded in getting Renoir’s Les Parapluies for seven years of the arrangement, and Manet’s Eva Gonzales for the full term. ‘In exchange, they insisted on taking the Degas,’ he wrote. ‘However, both the chairman and the director agreed in principle and verbally that we had a moral claim.’
Mr White said he suggested that if ‘at any time they would be prepared to give effect to this moral claim, that I felt sure you [the taoiseach] would agree to a long-term loan of some of the principal pictures to them.’
He adds: ‘I suggested that this would clear the air of certain grievances.’
Mr Lynch voiced his frustration that the Renoir – then valued at £1million pounds – was not included in the loan.
Lord Moyne, a trustee of Dublin’s National Gallery who was involved in the negotiations, also complained about London being ‘greedy and anxious to skim the cream of the collection and to leave us the milk in bulk’.
Mr White wrote back to the taoiseach to say he ‘is entirely justified’ in his annoyance over the Renoir, but the new arrangement was the best he could deliver ‘given that London wanted to hold on to the Renoir permanently’.
The granting of 30 pictures to Dublin ‘on the grounds of representing Lane’s taste seems to weaken the English moral claim in the long term’, he argued.
It was unlikely England will ever seek back the ‘less important’ pictures, ‘ensuring that they will never finally act on their legal right’, he adds. Mr Lynch told him: ‘I want to congratulate you on your work in negotiating this delicate matter. I know you have taken it as far as anybody could possibly go and the outcome is a significant improvement on the earlier arrangement.’
He added that the Irish Government will ‘provide whatever help and assistance you may require’ in future negotiations.
There was a flurry of missives back to Dublin from then Irish ambassador to London Eamon Kennedy, warning against ‘any controversy surrounding the transfer of the paintings, especially in the mood which has followed the Mountbatten murders here’, referring to the 1979 IRA killing of Queen Elizabeth’s cousin.
It was agreed to move the paintings before announcing it.
Under the 1979 deal, the works were divided into two groups, with 30 pictures placed on loan to the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, and eight pictures remaining in London.
In a renegotiated 1993 deal, the paintings in London were divided into two groups which were shown alternately in Dublin and London for six years at a time.
They include Degas’s Beach Scene and Monet’s Lavacourt Under Snow. That agreement comes up for renewal in 2019.
In 2016, Dublin City Council unanimously passed a motion calling for the handover of ‘the collection of impressionist paintings bequeathed to Dublin by Sir Hugh Lane but which continue to be retained in London’.