Sir Oliver Nicholas Millar (26 April 1923 – 10 May 2007) was a British
art historian
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
. He was an expert on 17th-century British painting, and a leading authority on
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh c ...
in particular. He served in the
Royal Household for 41 years from 1947, becoming
Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures
The office of the Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Pictures, in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Monarch, Sovereign of the United Kingdom, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of pictures ...
in 1972. He was the first
Director of the Royal Collection The Director of the Royal Collection is head of the Royal Collection Department, a department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The department is responsible for the day-to-day management and upkeep of the art collect ...
from 1987. He served in both offices until his retirement in 1988.
Early and private life
Millar was born in
Standon in Hertfordshire. He was the elder son of
Gerald Millar,
MC and his wife Ruth. His paternal grandmother, Beatrix ("Trixie"), was the daughter of author
George du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald d ...
and the sister of
Gerald du Maurier
Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier (26 March 1873 – 11 April 1934) was an English actor and manager. He was the son of author George du Maurier and his wife, Emma Wightwick, and the brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. In 1903, he m ...
(himself the father of
Daphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geor ...
) and
Sylvia Llewelyn Davies
Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (née du Maurier; 25 November 1866 – 27 August 1910) was the mother of the boys who were the inspiration for the stories of Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. She was the daughter of cartoonist and writer George du Maurier and h ...
(whose children with
Arthur Llewelyn Davies
Arthur Llewelyn Davies (20 February 1863 – 19 April 1907) was an English barrister of Welsh origin, but is best known as the father of the boys who were the inspiration for the stories of Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie.
Biography
Born 20 ...
were adopted by
J.M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...
); she had married Charlie Millar in the 1880s.
Millar was educated at
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
and the
Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...
at the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, graduating with an Academic Diploma in the History of Art. Among his teachers at the Courtauld was its director,
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to November 1979, was a leading British art historian and Soviet spy.
Blunt was professor of art history at the University of London, dire ...
. When Blunt succeeded
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director, and broadcaster. After running two important art galleries in the 1930s and 1940s, he came to wider public notice on television ...
as
Surveyor of the King's Pictures
The office of the Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Pictures, in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of pictures owned ...
in 1945, Millar asked him for a job. He became an Assistant Surveyor in 1947.
He married
Delia Dawnay in 1954. She was the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel
Cuthbert Dawnay, MC. They had three daughters and a son. His wife died in 2004. He died instantaneously of a heart attack whilst walking across
St James's Square
St James's Square is the only square in the St James's district of the City of Westminster and is a garden square. It has predominantly Georgian and Neo-Georgian architecture. For its first two hundred or so years it was one of the three or fou ...
in London having come from an appointment at
Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
to look at a picture by
Lely.
Career in the Royal Household
The
Royal Collection
The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world.
Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...
is one of the largest and most important art collections in the world, held in trust by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
as
Sovereign
''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'.
The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...
for her successors and the United Kingdom. The paintings comprise one of the best known and most significant elements of the Collection, hanging in royal palaces and other residences, including
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history.
The original cast ...
,
Hampton Court
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...
,
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
and
Sandringham House
Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a estate ...
.
After two years as an Assistant Surveyor, Millar was promoted to Deputy Surveyor in 1949 in place of
Benedict Nicolson
Lionel Benedict Nicolson (6 August 1914 – 22 May 1978) was a British art historian and author.
Nicolson was the elder son of authors Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West and the brother of writer and politician Nigel Nicolson, Nigel. ...
, who resigned to spend more time on another of his responsibilities, editing ''
The Burlington Magazine
''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation sin ...
''. Millar was appointed MVO in 1953, and advanced to CVO in 1963.
In addition to taking responsibility for much of the day-to-day administration of the Royal Collection, Millar also wrote many catalogues and other works. He published a book on
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...
in 1949, and another on
William Dobson
William Dobson (4 March 1611 (baptised); 28 October 1646 (buried)) was a portraitist and one of the first significant English painters, praised by his contemporary John Aubrey as "''the most excellent painter that England has yet bred''". He ...
in 1951. He co-wrote ''English Art, 1625–1714'' with
Margaret Whinney
Margaret Dickens Whinney (4 February 1897 – 1975) was an English art historian who taught at the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her published works included books on British sculpture and architecture.
Life
Whinney was the daughter of Thomas Bost ...
in 1957. The same year, he selected 37 works by van Dyck to be exhibited at the winter exhibition of
Flemish art
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
at the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
. He published a catalogue of the Tudor, Stuart and Early Georgian paintings in the Royal Collection in 1963, followed by a volume of Later Georgian pictures in 1969 and a two volume catalogue of Victorian pictures in the Royal Collection in 1992.
He edited the ''Inventories and Valuations of the King's Goods'', published in 1972, based on an inventory of the possessions of
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
originally compiled in around 1639 by the first Surveyor,
Abraham van der Doort
Abraham van der Doort (c. 1575/1580? - June 1640) was a Dutch artist. As Keeper of Charles I's art collections, he was the first Surveyor of the King's Pictures.
Van der Doort's careworn face is familiar from a portrait and engravings held by t ...
. Millar reckoned that Charles' collection was the best single English collection of paintings ever made, but it was broken up and sold at auction in 1649 after the king was executed. Also in 1972, Millar also wrote the catalogue for an exhibition of "The Age of Charles I" at the
Tate Gallery
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
.
After 23 years as Deputy, Millar succeeded
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to November 1979, was a leading British art historian and Soviet spy.
Blunt was professor of art history at the University of London, dire ...
as Surveyor in 1972, and was advanced to KCVO in 1973. The Royal Collection became more professional in its outlook under his stewardship. The Surveyor had historically been a part-time position, under the overall supervision of the
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main cha ...
since 1625, based at
St James's Palace
St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...
. Millar was the first full-time Surveyor, and the Royal Collection employed its first full-time
picture restorer in 1981. He broke free from the Lord Chamberlain in the 1980s, when he became the first Director of the Royal Collection in 1987, adding overall responsibility for the
Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art
The office of Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Works of Art in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of works of art own ...
and the
Royal Librarian.
Millar continued to publish catalogues and other works. He published ''The Queen's Pictures'' in 1977, a general account of the Royal Collection, and wrote the catalogues for exhibitions of works at the
National Portrait Gallery by
Sir Peter Lely
Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 7 December 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court.
Life
Lely was born Pieter van der Faes to Dutch ...
in 1978 and "Van Dyck in England" in 1982, selecting himself the 65 paintings and 22 drawings for the latter exhibition.
He also wrote for ''
The Burlington Magazine
''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation sin ...
'' and other art history journals. Between 1962 and his retirement in 1988, he was responsible for mounting 12 public exhibitions at the
Queen's Gallery
The Queen's Gallery is the main public art gallery of Buckingham Palace, home of the British monarch, in London. It exhibits works of art from the Royal Collection (the bulk of which works have since its opening been regularly displayed, s ...
at Buckingham Palace, attracting almost 2.5 million visitors in all.
Millar kept extensive notes on the works of art he visited in public and private collections and indexed them by artist and collection. These journals, written between 1945 and 2006, as well as Millar's general research papers are kept in the
Paul Mellon Centre's archive.
He was appointed Surveyor Emeritus and advanced to GCVO on his retirement in 1988. He wrote the chapter on Van Dyck's English period for ''Van Dyck, A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings'', published in 2004.
In 2008, the
Tate
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
gallery purchased, with the help of the
Art Fund
Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as ...
, a sketch by
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
for the
Banqueting House
In English architecture, mainly from the Tudor period onwards, a banqueting house is a separate pavilion-like building reached through the gardens from the main residence, whose use is purely for entertaining, especially eating. Or it may be buil ...
ceiling in
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...
in his memory.
Other positions
Millar became a Fellow of the
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
in 1970. He was a trustee of the
National Portrait Gallery from 1972 to 1995, and a member of the
Reviewing Committee on Export of Works of Art from 1975 to 1987. He was a member of the executive committee of the
National Art Collections Fund
Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as ...
from 1986 to 1998, and a trustee of the
National Heritage Memorial Fund
The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was set up in 1980 to save the most outstanding parts of the British national heritage, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. It replaced the National Land Fund which had fulfilled the ...
from 1988 to 1992. He was also a Visitor at the
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...
from 1987 to 1993, Chairman of the
Patrons of British Art from 1989 to 1997, and President of the
Walpole Society
The Walpole Society, named after Horace Walpole, was founded in 1911 to promote the study of the history of British art and artists.
From 1762 on, Walpole had published the first history of art in Britain, based on the manuscript notebooks of G ...
from 1998 to 2007.
Archive & library
Millar's archive is in the
Paul Mellon Centre
The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art is a scholarly centre in London devoted to supporting original research into the history of British Art. It was founded in 1970 and endowed by a gift from Paul Mellon. Since 1996, it has been si ...
where it is fully catalogued and available for consultation. The archive includes journals, containing notes Millar made during visits to public and private collections in the UK and abroad, research files on artists including
Anthony Van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh c ...
and
Peter Lely
Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 7 December 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court.
Life
Lely was born Pieter van der Faes to Dutch ...
, correspondence with art specialists, draft texts for the publication ''Van Dyck: A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings'' and annotated exhibition catalogues. Over four hundred books from Millar’s library are in the Paul Mellon Centre library.
Notes
References
Appearance on Desert Island Discs - 6 June 1977Obituary ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', 12 May 2007
Obituary ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', 14 May 2007
Obituary ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 16 May 2007
Obituary ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 17 May 2007
External links
The Oliver Millar ArchiveThe Oliver Millar Library Donation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millar, Oliver
1923 births
2007 deaths
British art historians
Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Fellows of the British Academy
Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art
People educated at Rugby School
British art curators
Surveyors of the Queen's Pictures