George Salting (15 August 183512 December 1909) was an Australian-born British

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

. He had inherited considerable wealth from his father; Salting collected paintings, Chinese porcelains, furniture, and many other categories of art and decorative items. He left his paintings to the

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director of ...

, prints and drawings to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, and the remainder to the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, requesting that the collection be displayed intact rather than divided among the museum's departments.

Early life

Salting was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, the son of Severin Kanute (Knud) Salting (1806–1865), a Dane who had extensive business interests in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. In 1858 he made a gift of £500 to the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

to found scholarships to be awarded to students from

Sydney Grammar School (Praise be to God) , established = , type = Independent, day school , gender = Boys , religious_affiliation = None , slogan = , headmaster = R. B. Malpass , founder = Laurence Hynes Halloran , chairman ...

. George Salting's mother was Louisa Augusta, ''née'' Fiellerup. George Salting was educated locally and then moved with his family to England and studied at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

.A. F. Pike,
Salting, Severin Kanute (1805–1865)
, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Vol. 2, MUP, 1967, p. 415. Retrieved 6 December 2009 In 1853 the family returned to New South Wales, and Salting entered the newly founded University of Sydney. There he won prizes for compositions in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

hexameters in 1855 and 1857, in Latin elegiacs in 1856, 1857 and 1858, and for Latin essays in 1854 and 1856. Salting graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1857. In 1858 the Salting family again travelled to England; Louisa Salting died there on 24 July 1858. Severin Salting settled in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, where he died in 1865. Severin Salting made a large fortune in sheep-farming and sugar-growing which he bequeathed to his son; George Salting inherited a fortune estimated at £30,000 a year.

Career

17-9 3-1964-Saltingtaeppe Photo-Pernille-Klemp-f

Largely influenced by the connoisseur

Louis Huth Louis Huth (22 March 1821 – 12 February 1905), was a British company director and merchant banker. He was a partner in Frederick Huth & Co, the merchant bank established by his father. Huth and his wife, Helen Huth (1837-1924), were signific ...

, Salting began collecting

Chinese porcelain Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the Palaeolithic era. Chinese ceramics range from constru ...

, developing a fine discriminating taste for it. His collection gradually extended and included English furniture, bronzes, majolica, glass, hard stones, manuscripts, miniatures, pictures, carpets, and other items which might be found in a good museum. Salting was a careful buyer, as a rule dealing only with two or three dealers whom he felt he could trust, though he sometimes bought at auction. He often obtained expert advice and his own knowledge was always growing. As a consequence he made few mistakes, and these were usually corrected by the pieces being exchanged for better specimens. Salting lived modestly mostly in London, occupying just two living rooms.Obit: "George Salting"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 17 December 1909 Except for an occasional few days shooting, he made collecting, and its associated research and study, his occupation.

Later life

The Salting monument in Brompton Cemetery

Salting never married and he did not give largely to charities. In spite of his large expenditure on collecting, his fortune increased during his lifetime. Salting died in London and is buried in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Establ ...

. His will was sworn at over £1,300,000. Of this he bequeathed £10,000 to London hospitals, £2000 to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital at Sydney, and £30,000 to relatives and others. The residue of his estate went to the heirs of his brother, who predeceased him.

Legacy

Salting left his entire collection of paintings, Oriental china, bronzes, and miniatures, valued at from $5,000,000 to $20,000,000, to British museums. He bequeathed his paintings to the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

, London, and his prints and drawings to the

as the respective trustees might select. The remainder of his art collection went to the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, with a proviso that it was to be kept together and not distributed over the various departments. It is a notable collection to have been put together by one person, the standard being extraordinarily high. The Chinese pottery and porcelain belonged mostly to the later dynasties, but much of the work of the great T'ang period was practically unobtainable when Salting was collecting. It was suggested at the time of his death that as his wealth had been drawn from Australia, some of his collection should be donated to the Australian galleries. Nothing came of this; probably the legal difficulties were impassable. John D. Beazley named after an attic

red-figure vase Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting. It developed in Athens around 520 BCE and remained in use until the late 3rd century BCE. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure va ...

formerly owned by George Salting today in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Salting Painter.

Collection

He gave three paintings to the National Gallery during his life, and bequeathed an additional 192 in his will. Of those 31 have since been transferred to 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 ...

. His collection of paintings included: * Dieric Bouts, ''Virgin and Child'' *

Robert Campin Robert Campin (c. 1375 – 26 April 1444), now usually identified with the Master of Flémalle (earlier the Master of the Merode Triptych, before the discovery of three other similar panels), was the first great master of Early Netherlandish paint ...

(follower), ''The Virgin and Child before a Firescreen'' *

Canaletto Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. Painter of city views or ...

, ''Venice: The Piazza San Marco from Two Views of Piazza San Marco'' *

Petrus Christus Petrus Christus (; 1410/1420 – 1475/1476) was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges from 1444, where, along with Hans Memling, he became the leading painter after the death of Jan van Eyck. He was influenced by van Eyck and Rogier v ...

, ''Portrait of a Young Man'' *

Cima da Conegliano Giovanni Battista Cima, also called Cima da Conegliano (c. 1459 – c. 1517), was an Italian Renaissance painter, who mostly worked in Venice. He can be considered part of the Venetian school, though he was also influenced by Antonello da ...

, ''David and Jonathan'' (?) and ''The Virgin and Child'' *

Joos van Cleve Joos van Cleve (; also Joos van der Beke; c. 1485–1490 – 1540/1541) was a leading painter active in Antwerp from his arrival there around 1511 until his death in 1540 or 1541. Within Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, he combines the tr ...

, ''The Holy Family'' *

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham Vale, th ...

, ''Salisbury Cathedral and Leadenhall from the River Avon'' and ''Weymouth Bay: Bowleaze Cove and Jordon Hill'' *

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; July 16, 1796 – February 22, 1875), or simply Camille Corot, is a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his vast ...

, ''A Wagon in the Plains of Artois'', ''The Wood Gatherer'', ''The Leaning Tree Trunk'', ''Evening on the Lake'', ''Cows in a Marshy Landscape'', ''Souvenir of a Journey to Coubron'', and ''A Flood'' *

Charles-François Daubigny Charles-François Daubigny ( , , ; 15 February 181719 February 1878) was a French painter, one of the members of the Barbizon school, and is considered an important precursor of impressionism. He was also a prolific printmaker, mostly in etch ...

, ''River Scene with Ducks'', ''The Garden Wall'', ''Willows'' and ''Alders'' *

Gaspard Dughet Gaspard Dughet (15 June 1615 – 25 May 1675), also known as Gaspard Poussin, was a French painter born in Rome. Life Dughet was born in Rome, the son of a French pastry-cook and his Italian wife. He has always generally been considered as a Fr ...

, ''Landscape with a Cowherd'' *

Domenico Ghirlandaio Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi (, , ; 2 June 1448 – 11 January 1494), professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio, also spelled as Ghirlandajo, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of t ...

, ''Portrait of a Young Man in Red'' *

Jan van Goyen Jan Josephszoon van Goyen (; 13 January 1596 – 27 April 1656) was a Dutch landscape painter. The scope of his landscape subjects was very broad as he painted forest landscapesm marines, river landscapes, beach scenes, winter landscape, cityscap ...

, ''A Windmill by a River'', ''A River Scene, with Fishermen laying a Net'' and ''A Scene on the Ice'' *

Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, , ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, chiefly of individual and group portraits and of genre works, who lived and worked in Haarlem. Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century grou ...

, ''Portrait of a Woman with a Fan'' and ''Portrait of a Man holding Gloves'' * Meindert Hobbema, ''Cottages in a Wood'' and ''A Road winding past Cottages'' *

Hans Memling Hans Memling (also spelled Memlinc; c. 1430 – 11 August 1494) was a painter active in Flanders, who worked in the tradition of Early Netherlandish painting. He was born in the Middle Rhine region and probably spent his childhood in Mainz. He ...

, ''A Young Man at Prayer'' *

Gabriël Metsu Gabriël Metsu (1629–1667) was a Dutch painter of history paintings, still lifes, portraits, and genre works. He was "a highly eclectic artist, who did not adhere to a consistent style, technique, or one type of subject for long periods". On ...

, ''The Interior of a Smithy'' and ''An Old Woman with a Book'' *

Jean-François Millet Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realism ...

, ''The Whisper'' *

Adriaen van Ostade Adriaen van Ostade (baptized as Adriaen Jansz Hendricx 10 December 1610 – buried 2 May 1685) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of genre works, showing everyday life of ordinary men and women. Life According to Arnold Houbraken, he and his bro ...

, ''A Peasant holding a Jug and a Pipe'', ''A Peasant courting an Elderly Woman'' and 'The Interior of an Inn'' *

Sebastiano del Piombo Sebastiano del Piombo (; c. 1485 – 21 June 1547) was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance and early Mannerist periods famous as the only major artist of the period to combine the colouring of the Venetian school in which he was trained ...

, ''The Daughter of Herodias'' *

Paulus Potter Paulus Potter (; 20 November 1625 (baptised) – 17 January 1654 (buried)) was a Dutch painter who specialized in animals within landscapes, usually with a low vantage point. Before Potter died of tuberculosis at the age of 28 he succeeded in ...

, ''Cattle and Sheep in a Stormy Landscape'' *

Francesco Raibolini __NOTOC__ Francesco Francia, whose real name was Francesco Raibolini (1447 – 5 January 1517) was an Italian painter, goldsmith, and medallist from Bologna, who was also director of the city mint.Levinson:492 He may have trained with Marco Zop ...

, ''Bartolomeo Bianchini'' *

Théodore Rousseau Étienne Pierre Théodore Rousseau (April 15, 1812December 22, 1867) was a French painter of the Barbizon school. Life Youth He was born in Paris, France in a bourgeois family. At first he received a basic level of training, but soon displaye ...

, ''Sunset in the Auvergne'' *

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 tradit ...

, ''Aurora abducting Cephalus'' *

Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruisdael Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (; 1629 – 10 March 1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural ach ...

, ''A Cottage and a Hayrick by a River'', ''A Rocky Hill with Three Cottages, a Stream at its Foot'', ''Vessels in a Fresh Breeze'', ''A Road leading into a Wood'', ''A Ruined Castle Gateway'' and ''An Extensive Landscape with Ruins'' * Luca Signorelli, ''The Holy Family'' *

Jan Steen Jan Havickszoon Steen (c. 1626 – buried 3 February 1679) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century. His works are known for their psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour. Lif ...

, ''Peasants merry-making outside an Inn'', ''A Man blowing Smoke at a Drunken Woman'', ''An Interior with a Man offering an Oyster to a Woman'', ''Skittle Players outside an Inn'', ''A Peasant Family at Meal-time ('Grace before Meat')'' and ''A Pedlar selling Spectacles outside a Cottage'' *

Johannes Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

, ''

Lady Seated at a Virginal ''Lady Seated at a Virginal'' (Dutch: ''Zittende virginaalspeelster''), also known as ''Young Woman Seated at a Virginal'', is a genre painting created by the Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer in about 1670–1672 and now in the Nation ...

'' *

Andrea del Verrocchio Andrea del Verrocchio (, , ; – 1488), born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was a sculptor, Italian painter and goldsmith who was a master of an important workshop in Florence. He apparently became known as ''Verrocchio'' after the ...

, ''The Virgin and Child with Two Angels'' Some of the artifacts bequeathed by Salting, now in the Vicotria and Albert Museum, London File:Wine pot in the shape of Shou character. Qing Dynasty, Kangxi reign period, 1680-1720 CE. Porcelain painted in underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze colored enamels. From Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province. Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg, Wine pot in the shape of Shou character. Qing Dynasty, Kangxi reign period, 1680-1720 CE. Porcelain painted in underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze colored enamels. From Jingdezhen, China File:Lidded ewer. Wine pot with floral design; the body decorated with the "Eight Auspicious Symbols" amidst scrolling flowers. Cloisonne enamel on copper. Ming Dynasty, 1550-1600 CE. From China. Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg, Lidded ewer. Wine pot with floral design; the body decorated with the "Eight Auspicious Symbols" amidst scrolling flowers. Cloisonne enamel on copper. Ming Dynasty, 1550-1600 CE. From China File:Teapot. Porcelain painted in colored enamels. Qing Dynasty, Kangxi reign period, 1680-1720 CE. From China, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province. Salting Bequest. Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg, Teapot. Porcelain painted in colored enamels. Qing Dynasty, Kangxi reign period, 1680-1720 CE. From China, Jingdezhen

Early life

Career

Later life

Legacy

Collection

Notes

Further reading