"History is an art": Selections from the Paul Oppé Archive by Paul Mellon Centre

“History is an art”

Selections from the Paul Oppé Archive DR AW ING RO OM DI SPL AY S 30 October 2023 – 2 February 2024

Item 9

Introduction

This display showcases materials drawn from the library and archive of the art historian, collector and civil servant Paul Oppé (1878–1957), held by the Paul Mellon Centre. Oppé’s father was a silk merchant and he grew up in comfortable circumstances in London and Surrey. He studied classics and literature at St Andrews and Oxford, and initially taught ancient art and history in Scotland before taking up an appointment in the Board of Education in London in 1905. After publishing on Raphael (1909) and Botticelli (1911), he focused on British art, particularly landscape watercolours and drawings of around 1750–1850. He was never a salaried art historian, but he became an influential collector, critic and advisor. His archive includes correspondence with many of the key art historians and collectors in the field, notebooks, research notes and drafts and revealing annotations to books and catalogues. Reflecting Oppé’s long and multifaceted scholarly life, the archive is a rich resource illuminating the field of British art history in the mid-twentieth century. This was a period when the discipline changed dramatically, as it became more professionalised and embedded as a university subject in the UK and USA. In the upright showcase, you can see materials reflecting Oppé’s life and career, showing his intellectual aspirations and the methodical character of his research and collecting. The other two cases focus on specific topics and demonstrate the depth of the archive. One case explores his little-known engagement with Chinese art, the other his prickly relationship with a younger art historian, David Loshak.

Opposite: Item 1

Chronology 1868 Pauline Jaffé, daughter of Daniel Joseph Jaffé, a merchant based in Belfast, marries Siegmund Armin Oppé, a silk merchant, in Paris (23 April). Both families are of GermanJewish heritage. 1873 Siegmund and Pauline Oppé move from Lyons in France to London with their three young children. 1874 Daniel Joseph Jaffé dies in Belfast, his estate valued at £160,000. 1878 Adolphus Paul Oppé is born at 157 The Grove, Camberwell, London, 22 September 1878, the fifth of eight children of Siegmund Armin and Pauline Oppé. 1881 The census records the household of 157 The Grove as including six Oppé children, their maternal grandmother, Francis Jaffé, and five domestic servants.

Above: Photograph of Pauline Oppé, thought to be taken from the family album, photo c.1935 Opposite: 1909: Oppé family photograph album, 1916–17

1886 Naturalisation of Siegmund Armin Oppé “a subject of the Empire of Germany” (8 May), and his eight children; he died suddenly in the street near his office in the City of London later that year, 28 October. The family subsequently moves to Godalming, Surrey. 1891–3 Attends Charterhouse, Godalming. 1893–4 Mother takes him and twin siblings on an extended trip to New Zealand, visiting Japan, China and Sri Lanka. 1894 Enrols at the University of St Andrews.

1897 Awarded Gray Prize at St Andrews for his essay “The New Comedy”.

1904–5 Lecturer in ancient history, Edinburgh University.

1899–1901 Studied classics and literature at New College, Oxford.

1905 Appointed as “Junior Examiner” at Board of Education.

1902 Appointed assistant to the Professor of Greek, St Andrews University.

1906–7 Seconded from Board of Education as advisor at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

1904 Published influential article, “The Chasm at Delphi” in Journal of Hellenic Studies.

1909 Published Raphael (Methuen). Marries in Esher, Surrey on 23 February, Lyonetta Edith Regina Valentine Tollemache, daughter of a Church of England clergyman.

First major art purchase, of J.S. Cotman’s Llangollen (1801).

Identifies as “Civil Servant” on the marriage certificate. 1910–13 Seconded from Board of Education as Deputy Director, Victoria and Albert Museum. 1910 Purchases at auction seventeen drawings by the then almostunknown Francis Towne. 1911 Publishes Botticelli (Hodder & Stoughton). Promotional leaflet for the book The Dance: An Historical Survey of Dancing in Europe written by A.P. Oppé and C.J Sharpe circa 1924–25.

Declines appointment as Senior Keeper at the V&A as this appears to him less prestigious than his current role at the Board of Education. 1915 Brother Henry Sigismund Oppé killed by sniper fire while serving in the Dardanelles (6 November). 1917 Brother Thomas Armin Oppé killed in action while serving in France (20 May). 1919 Publishes article on Francis Towne for The Walpole Society. 1923 Publishes Rowlandson: His Drawings and Watercolours and Cotman for The Studio. 1924 Publishes, with folklorist Cecil Sharp, The Dance: An Historical Survey of Dancing in Europe (Halton and Truscott Smith). 1925 Publishes Turner, Cox and De Wint for The Studio and on John White Abbott for The Walpole Society. 1928 Publishes on Cozens’ Roman Sketchbook for The Walpole Society.

1934 Contributes chapter on art to G.M. Young, ed., Early Victorian England, 1830–1865. 1937 Takes on role as advisor on the acquisition of drawings for the National Gallery of Canada, which he continues until his death. Appointed Companion of the Bath (CB). 1938 Retires from Board of Education at the age of sixty. 1940 Death of Pauline Oppé (8 June) at the family home, Red House, Pamber Heath, Basingstoke; probate granted to her son, Adolphus Paul Oppé “of no occupation”. 1947 Publishes The Drawings of Paul and Thomas Sandby in the Collection of His Majesty the King at Windsor Castle (Phaidon).

1950 Publishes English Drawings, Stuart and Georgian Periods, in the Collection of His Majesty the King at Windsor Castle (Phaidon). 1951 Death of wife, Valentine Oppé, at home in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea (7 January). 1952 Elected Fellow of the British Academy.

1948 Publishes The Drawings of William Hogarth (Phaidon).

Publishes his last book, Alexander & John Robert Cozens (A & C Black).

1949 Bronze portrait bust by Uli Nimptsch (presented to the British Museum in 1957).

1953 Receives honorary LLD, University of Glasgow, identified as “historian of art” (The Times, 25 March 1953).

1954 Photographic portrait by W. Stoneman commissioned by National Portrait Gallery. 1957 Proposes to Aydua Scott-Elliot, Keeper of Prints and Drawings at Windsor Castle, but dies at home in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, 29 March 1957, aged seventy-eight. The obituary in The Times declared: “a remarkable example of a man who achieved distinction in two different spheres of activity—as an official of the Board of Education, and as a connoisseur and art historian”. 1958 Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Works from the Paul Oppé Collection: English Watercolours and Old Master Drawings selected by his daughter Armide and Aydua Scott-Elliot. 1970 New edition of Raphael, with an introduction by Charles Mitchell.

1996 Tate purchases over 3,000 drawings from the Oppé Collection, with funds from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the National Art Collections Fund. Tate’s Director, Nicholas Serota, is quoted declaring: “There has never been anything on the scale of this acquisition.” 1997–99 Exhibition of British Watercolours from the Oppé Collection at the Tate Gallery 10 September–30 November 1997, touring from September 1998–June 1999 to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter; The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; and the National Museum and Gallery of Wales, Cardiff. 1999 Aydua Scott-Elliot gives works acquired from the Oppé collection to the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, in his memory.

1971 Article on Oppé by Brinsley Ford published in the Dictionary of National Biography.

2017 The Paul Oppé archive is allocated to the Paul Mellon Centre under the government’s Acceptance in Lieu scheme.

1979 Biography by James Byam Shaw for Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the British Academy.

p.5: Portrait bust of Paul Oppé by Uli Nimptsch, bronze on green-veined marble plinth, 58.3 × 20.3 cm. Image courtesy The Trustees of the British Museum

Item 9 6

Display

STANDING DISPLAY CASE SHELF 1

“I wish to be a poet” By Hans Christian Hönes

In the early 1900s, Paul Oppé tried to carve out a career as an art historian when such a profession did not yet exist in Britain. In Oppé’s writings, professional musings and private introspection are closely entangled. Together they form a unique and lively picture of a man in search for a purpose in life, hoping to turn his passion into a profession. Oppé was an aesthete at heart. In 1904, he wrote: “I wish to be a poet and to express in a form not inadequate some of the emotions and thoughts which make up my real life.” Originally trained as a Classicist, he sought to fulfil his dreams by lecturing on the history of ancient sculpture. The manuscripts contain extensive musings about form and beauty, as well as repeated comparisons of Grecian works to such artists as Michelangelo, or Japanese prints. Ultimately, such lofty desires were not to be squared with the mundane realities of being a university teacher: he quit Classics (and academia) in 1905.

Item 4 A notebook containing personal reflections from 1897–98 and resumed in 1904. The subjects of these notes range widely from church going to friendship, buying books, his health issues, and, here, his thoughts about the vocation of writing:

"Writing, whatever the material, has a strong fascination for me. At present my command of language is imperfect, I do not or can not reproduce my uncertain thoughts with perfect accuracy. But still I enjoy strongly the feeling that part of my nature or my mind is flowing from me & congealing in the outer air."

Item 5 Entry from a daily diary kept by A.P. Oppé from 1899–1904, including notes and sketches.

Item 6 Entry from a notebook kept by A.P Oppé, dated 13th August, 1904. Taken from a small black notebook kept from July to August, 1904

Item 7

STANDING DISPLAY CASE SHELF 2

Building a Profession

From 1904, Oppé tried to forge alternative careers, working, for example, as a reviewer for newspapers, and writing accessible monographs on the Italian Renaissance artists Raphael and Botticelli. In search of a salaried position and a rich cultural life, Oppé moved to London in 1905 and became a civil servant in the Department for Education. This was, as Oppé admitted, “completely uninteresting work”, but it also had its advantages. As a friend wryly remarked, “from that you are in a government office you have discovered that it gives you the great advantage of plenty of time and excellent stationery for your private correspondence.” The office job indeed left Oppé enough spare time to pursue his art-historical interests. Though he did advisory work for the National Gallery of Canada, among others, Oppé never became a salaried art historian. He came close only once, when in 1910 he was seconded to the V&A as the

museum’s Deputy Director and was subsequently offered a position as Keeper in the Department of Architecture & Sculpture. Compared to his position in the Board of Education, however, Oppé considered this role “a real degradation” and declined. This episode highlights the lack of status (and renumeration) that was associated with a professional career in the arts. [HH]

Opposite Item 8: A.P. Oppé, Sandro Botticelli, The Arundel Library of Great Masters

Item 10

Item 11

STANDING DISPLAY CASE SHELF THREE

Researching and collecting British drawings In 1905 Oppé first confessed to having a “professional interest” in British art; since 1904 he bought works by artists such as John Sell Cotman and Hercules Brabazon – the beginning of a lifelong passion. Over the decades, Oppé became a leading authority on British works on paper. Oppé corresponded widely with likeminded connoisseurs and served as an advisor for the National Gallery of Canada from 1937 until his death. He became instrumental in establishing a nascent community of scholars that pioneered the study of British art. His working papers give insight into the informal networks and support mechanisms among these scholars, many of whom also were collectors of the works they studied. [HH]

Opposite Item 14: Entry on Luke Clenell from an annotated catalogue of English drawings, kept by A.P. Oppé, circa 1914.

Following spread Item 17: Reproduction of John Sell Cotman, Llangollen, 1801, watercolour, 18.8 × 28.8 cm. This was Oppé’s first major purchase, bought at auction in London in April 190, then acquired by Tate Britain as part of the Oppé Collection.

Item 18

Item 19

Samuel Palmer, Oak Trees, Lullingstone Park, 1828, drawing, 29.5 × 46.8 cm. Image courtesy of National Gallery of Canada (4357). Purchased in London by Oppé for the Gallery.

LARGE FLAT DISPLAY CASE

Oppé and Chinese art By Helen Glaister

Paul Oppé’s engagement with Chinese art is largely unknown but through his archive, his personal response to Chinese art objects, theory and aesthetics come into focus. Oppé travelled to China and East Asia in his youth, collecting “curios” and recording his impressions of the extended journey in 1893–94. His younger brother Henry Sigismund Oppé (1880–1915) was later based in Shanghai and writes to Paul about the purchase of “two Chinese pictures”, offering insights into the circulation of Chinese art objects in the final years of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). By the early twentieth century, London had become a nexus for Chinese art collectors, dealers, scholars and museum curators, who coalesced around specialist societies such as the Burlington Fine Arts Club and the Oriental Ceramic Society (founded 1921). The first lectureship in Chinese Art and Archaeology was founded in 1930 at the School of Oriental

Studies, University of London and exhibitions dedicated to Chinese art raised the profile of the subject, none more so than the International Exhibition of Chinese Art at Burlington House (1935–36). The exhibition made a deep impression on Oppé who made multiple visits and, in his letter to The Times (21 February 1936), he praised the Chinese handscroll “Myriad Miles” by Xia Gui (act. 1180–1230) as “one of the most effective landscapes in the world”. The exhibition stimulated Chinese art scholarship in Britain, spawning a range of publications including those which increasingly represented a Chinese point of view; Osvald Sirén’s The Chinese on the Art of Painting: Translations and Comments (1936) drew extensively from Chinese sources offering new perspectives and challenging the dominant Western art-historical discourse.

Opposite: Item 23, Item 33

Paul Oppé’s younger brother, Henry Sigismund Oppé (1880–1915), was based in China for work from 1906 until he returned to Europe to serve in the army in 1915. Here he writes to Paul (then still addressed as Adolf) about “two Chinese pictures” he was sending back to London. Henry died in action in 1915; his twin Thomas died in battle in France in 1917.

Item 22 In 1893–94, Paul Oppé and his twin brothers, Henry and Thomas, were taken by their mother on an extended trip to China, Japan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. His notes and diary entries relay his impressions and record the “Curios” he purchased in Japan.

Above: Item 26

LARGE FLAT DISPLAY CASE

Oppé and Loshak By Martin Myrone

Through his scholarly publications, collecting and advisory work, Oppé achieved eminence in the field of British art history. In 1952, an admirer declared that “a review from his pen can make or break a book”. But by that date, there were already developments in the field of British art studies that would challenge his authority. In 1948, Oppé met with a younger art historian, David Loshak, who was developing his research on the watercolour painter Thomas Girtin. Loshak was British-born but had moved to America and served as an American GI. It was only courtesy of the “GI Bill” (funding for veterans) that he was able to continue his education, writing his master’s thesis on Girtin at the University of Michigan in 1951. Meanwhile, Oppé had connected his old friend Tom Girtin—a descendent of the artist—to the publisher A&C Black, hoping to see his catalogue of Girtin’s printed. Uncertain whether Tom Girtin could address the “critical part” of

the book, Loshak was brought in as a collaborator. The resulting book was published in 1954. Oppé reviewed the book for The Burlington Magazine, making scathing comments about Loshak’s contributions and his attempts to relate Girtin’s art to larger social changes. The documents displayed here show what happened next and suggest a confrontation between Oppé’s gentlemanly outlook and new forms of academic art history.

Opposite Item 35: Letter from Jock Burnet of A&C Black Ltd., to A.P Oppé, concerning a request for Oppé's advice on the prospect of Thomas Girtin writing a book on his ancestor, questioning his capacity for 'critical part'. Dated 17th February 1947. Overleaf Item 36: Thomas Girtin and David Loshak. The art of Thomas Girtin. (London, Adam and Charles Black, 1954)

Opposite: Item 41 Above: Item 42

Item 43

Appendix

List of items

Item 1 Photograph of A.P Oppé sitting on a sofa c.1950s. AR: APO/10/3/1 Item 2 Photograph of A.P Oppé, c.1950s. AR: APO/10/3/1/G Item 3 Photograph of A.P. Oppé, c.1890s. AR: APO/10/3/1 Item 4 Black book 2: Arcana Oppiana ... Platitudes and other incompetencies, a notebook kept by A.P Oppé from 1897–1904. AR: APO/8/2/2

Item 7 Syllabus for a course of 12 lectures on Greek Sculpture, which A.P Oppé had delivered, from the University of St. Andrews, 1904. AR: APO/2/1/3 Item 8 A.P Oppé. Sandro Botticelli, The Arundel Library of Great Masters. (London and New York: Hodder and Stoughton, 1911). LR: OPPÉ-1911-1 Box 3 Item 9 A.P Oppé. Raphael. (London: Methuen and Co., 1909). LR: (...) Item 10 Letter from the Junior Examiner to A.P Oppé, informing of appointment to Board of Education, dated 28th December, 1904. AR: APO/2/2

Item 5 Entry from a daily diary kept by A.P Oppé between 1899–1904, including notes and sketches. AR: APO/8/1/1

Item 11 Letter from the Secretary of the Civil Service Commission to A.P Oppé, notifying of appointment as Senior Keeper of the Victoria and Albert Museum, dated 11th of December, 1911. AR: APO/2/2

Item 6 Black book 16: London-WinchesterLondon, a notebook kept by A.P Oppé, from July–August 1904. AR: APO/8/2/16

Item 12 Draft letter written by A.P Oppé in response to the notification of Senior Keeper position. AR: APO/2/2

Item 13 An entry, from a series of auction notes from 1908–1936, dated 1925, including information on date of sale, venue and collection. AR: APO/6/2/1 Item 14 Entry on Luke Clenell from an annotated catalogue of English drawings, kept by A.P Oppé, c. 1914. AR: APO/5/6 Item 15 Research correspondence from Sydney Decimus Kitson to A.P. Oppé, dated from 1928–37, concerning the works of John Sell Cotman, including exhibition catalogues, newspaper cuttings and reviews. AR: APO/1/4/2 Item 16 A.P Oppé. Watercolour Drawings of John Sell Cotman. (London: The Studio Ltd., 1923). AR: APO/1/4/1

Windsor Castle, 15th–17th August 1943. AR: APO/1/19/10 Item 19 Letter from Anthony Blunt, Courtauld Institute to Paul Oppé, concerning the influence of engravings by J.B.S Chardin on Sandby. Dated 29th September 1944. AR: APO/1/19/1 Item 20 A.P Oppé. The drawings of Paul and Thomas Sandby in the collection of His Majesty the King at Windsor Castle. (Oxford; London: Phaidon, 1947). LR: 7 SAND. O Item 21 Letter from A.P Oppé to Erik Brown of the National Gallery of Canada, dated 28th June 1937. AR: APO/7/1/1

Item 17 Reproduction of John Sell Cotman, Llangollen, 1801, watercolour, 18.8 × 28.8 cm. Image courtesy of Tate (T08237)

Item 22 Travel diary kept by A.P Oppé, circa 1893–94, including notes while travelling in Japan, China and Sri Lanka, with his brothers, Henry and Thomas, and their mother. Also includes a record of the 'curios' he bought in Japan. AR: APO/8/1/0

Item 18 Letters exchanged between Owen Morshead and A.C Sewter regarding the proposition of A.P Oppé and A.C Sewter to catalogue English drawings at

Item 23 Letter from brother Henry Sigismund Oppé to A.P Oppé, dated 18th December 1912. AR: APO/9/36

Item 24 Burlington Fine Arts Club, Catalogue of a Collection of Objects of Chinese Art (London: Printed for the Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1915). LR: OPPÉ-1915-4 Item 25 Royal Academy of Arts (Great Britain) with an introduction by Laurence Binyon. Catalogue of the international exhibition of Chinese art, 1935–6. (London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1935). LR: OPPÉ-1935-12 Item 26 Royal Academy of Arts (Great Britain). International exhibition of Chinese art, 1935–36: illustrated supplement to the catalogue. (London: Royal Academy of Art, 1935). LR: OPPÉ=1935-14 Item 27 Newspaper cutting of a letter to The Times, written by A.P Oppé, concerning the International Exhiition of Chinese Art held at the Royal Academy of Arts, 1935–37. AR: APO/2/7 Item 28 Osvald Siren, with annotations from A.P Oppé. The Chinese on the art of painting. (Peiping: Henri Vetch, 1936). LR: OPPÉ-1936-1

Item 29 General research notes on Alexander and John Robert Cozens, created and compiled by A.P Oppé, circa 1920–50. AR: APO/1/5/9 Item 30 General research notes on Alexander and John Robert Cozens. AR: APO/1/5/9 Item 31 General research notes on Alexander and John Robert Cozens, including notes on Chinese art. AR: APO/1/5/9 Items 32–34 Postcards collected by A.P Oppé APO/4/7 Item 35 Letter from Jock Burnet of A&C Black Ltd., to A.P Oppé, concerning a request for Oppé's advice on the prospect of Thomas Girtin writing a book on his ancestor. AR: APO/1/11/1 Item 36 Thomas Girtin and David Loshak. The art of Thomas Girtin. (London, Adam and Charles Black, 1954). Including a presentation letter from Thomas Girtin addressed to A.P Oppé dated 21st November 1954, tipped in at left-hand pastedown. Also includes extensive annotations by Oppé. LR: OPPÉ-1954-2

Item 37 Letter from Thomas Girtin to A.P Oppé, with a line claiming that David Loshak "has been splendid to work with," dated 13th of December 1954. AR: APO/1/11/2

Item 42 Letter from A.P Oppé to David Loshak, dated 7th August 1955, in response to the letter sent by Loshak on the 25th of July 1955. AR: APO1/11/3

Item 38 Letter from Thomas Girtin to A.P Oppé, mentioning Loshak on a few occasions, dated 25th Febraury 1955. AR: APO/1/11/2

Item 43 Letter from David Loshak to A.P Oppé, continuing the correspondance regarding the book review, dated 17th August 1955. AR: APO/1/11/3

Item 39 A final draft of A.P Oppé's review of Girtin and Loshak's volume, 1954. This version of the review was shared with Thomas Girtin, but not Loshak, in February 1955. Alterations were made in the final printed text, including the final dismissal of Loshak’s contributions as ‘immature’; the published version referred to as ‘ill considered’. AR: APO/1/11/3 Item 40 A.P Oppé. Book review: The art of Thomas Girtin by Thomas Girtin and David Loshak. (London: The Burlington Magazine, 97[633], pp.392–395, 1955). LR: JOURNALS – B Item 41 Letter from David Loshak to A.P Oppé, concerning his reaction to the book review which had been published in The Burlington Magazine, dated 25th July 1955. AR: APO/1/11/3

Item 44 Letter from A.P Oppé to David Loshak, ending correspondance regarding book review, dated 26th August 1955. AR: APO/1/11/3 Item 45 Fold out proof of David Loshak's initial reaction letter to A.P Oppé's book review, originally written 25th July 1955, and then published in The Burlington Magazine in 1957. AR: APO/1/11/3 Item 46 Letter from A.P Oppé to Benedict Nicolson of The Burlington Magazine, dated 25th November 1956, regarding the publishing of Loshak's letter. AR: APO/1/11/3

The Paul Oppé archive at the Paul Mellon Centre The acquisition of the Paul Oppé archive and library was a significant milestone in the Paul Mellon Centre’s history. It was allocated to the Centre under the government’s Acceptance in Lieu (AiL) scheme in 2017, having been assessed by a panel of experts, and identified as having both national importance and pre-eminence in its field. The Paul Mellon Centre recruited a project archivist and a library cataloguer to catalogue this material and make it available to the public. By June 2020 they had completed the assessment, sorting, arranging and cataloguing of the material and the catalogues were made available online for researchers. The archive consists of Oppé’s extensive sets of personal notebooks and diaries, documenting his collecting activities, appointments and reflections on art and life. Alongside these are the correspondence, photographs and notes compiled by Oppé in relation to his research on artists such as Alexander and John Robert Cozens, Paul and Thomas Sandby and Francis Towne. The archive also includes personal papers relating to Oppé and his family. The Oppé library contains printed material spanning over four hundred years, with the earliest volumes dating from the middle of the sixteenth century. Oppé mainly collected works written in English, but also in other languages including Italian, French and German, frequently inscribing the date of acquisition in the front of the volume. As a working library used for research, a majority of the books bear annotations, corrections and manuscript indexes in Oppé’s hand. Loose items such as letters, illustrations and newspaper clippings have also been pressed between the pages. The PMC would like to thank to the Oppé family and the Arts Council for facilitating the allocation of this unique collection.