Adolph Paul Oppé, (22 September 1878 – 29 March 1957) was a British art historian, critic,

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 individua ...

and museum official. Born in London, the son of a silk merchant, he was educated at Charterhouse, the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

. From 1902–5 he taught Greek and ancient history at the universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh, and from 1905–38 worked as a civil servant in the Board of Education. He also served (1906–7 and 1910–13) as Deputy Director of 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 ...

. Oppé was elected as 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 ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh ...

. Oppé was a distinguished collector of drawings, and monographs on

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...

and

Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, when he was rediscovered ...

, but subsequently concentrated on British art, particularly works on paper including those by

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-lik ...

Alexander Cozens Alexander Cozens (1717–1786) was a British landscape painter in watercolours, born in Russia, in Saint Petersburg. He taught drawing and wrote treatises on the subject, evolving a method in which imaginative drawings of landscapes could be w ...

John Robert Cozens John Robert Cozens (1752 – 14 December 1797) was a British drawing, draftsman and Painting, painter of romantic watercolour Landscape painting, landscapes. Cozens executed watercolors in curious atmospheric effects and illusions which had ...

, and

Thomas Rowlandson Thomas Rowlandson (; 13 July 175721 April 1827) was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation. A prolific artist and printmaker, Rowlandson produced both individual social an ...

, and wrote important catalogues on the English drawings in 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 ...

at Windsor including those by

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

and

Thomas Sandby Thomas Sandby (1721 – 25 June 1798) was an English draughtsman, watercolour artist, architect and teacher. In 1743 he was appointed private secretary to the Duke of Cumberland, who later appointed him Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park, w ...

. He was a pioneer instigator of English watercolour and drawing studies, along with

Laurence Binyon Robert Laurence Binyon, CH (10 August 1869 – 10 March 1943) was an English poet, dramatist and art scholar. Born in Lancaster, England, his parents were Frederick Binyon, a clergyman, and Mary Dockray. He studied at St Paul's School, London ...

Charles F. Bell
and other enthusiasts, and built up what Sir Charles Wheeler called "the most important ollectionown its representation of English artists to have been formed in this century". His collection of over 3,000 works of art on paper, including figurative drawings, portraits, and landscapes produced predominately between 1750 and 1850 was regarded as being of national importance and was acquired by

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 ...

in 1996. The acquisition consisted of over 3,000 works of art on paper, including portraits, figurative drawings, and most notably landscapes from the ‘golden age’ of British watercolour painting (1750–1850). It includes watercolours by

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and

John Downman John Downman (1750 – 24 December 1824) was a Welsh portrait and subject painter. Life and work Downman is thought to have been born near Ruabon, Denbighshire, the son of Francis Downman, attorney, of St Neots, and Charlotte (née Goodsend, e ...

and

Francis Towne Francis Towne (1739 or 1740 – 7 July 1816) was a British watercolour painter of landscapes that range from the English Lake District to Naples and Rome. After a long period of obscurity, his work has been increasingly recognised from t ...

and oils by Thomas Jones. From the nineteenth century there are works by

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, the ...

John Sell Cotman John Sell Cotman (16 May 1782 – 24 July 1842) was an English marine and landscape painter, etcher, illustrator, author and a leading member of the Norwich School of painters. Born in Norwich, the son of a silk merchant and lace dealer, ...

, George Richmond,

J.M.W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...

and John William Inchbold. In 1915 he catalogued a previously undocumented collection of watercolours by the artist

that were inherited by Maria Sophia Merivale (1853–1928) and Judith Ann Merivale (1860–1945), which has formed the basis of a subsequent

catalogue raisonné A ''catalogue raisonné'' (or critical catalogue) is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified ...

on the artist.

Archive & library

In 2018 Oppé's library and archive collection was accepted in lieu of tax and allocated to the

Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art 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 s ...

under the UK Government's Acceptance in Lieu Scheme. The archive comprises research notes, correspondence, annotated

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

and auction catalogues, and other associated material compiled by Oppé throughout his career largely concerning

eighteenth century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave tradin ...

British artists This is a partial list of artists active in Britain, arranged chronologically (artists born in the same year should be arranged alphabetically within that year). Born before 1700 * Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/8–1543) – German artist and ...

as well as an extensive set of diaries and notebooks that he maintained throughout his adult life. The material is now fully catalogued and available for consultation in the public study room at the centre.

Selected publications

* *Oppé, Paul (1919). ''Francis Towne, landscape painter''. The Walpole Society, 8.

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 ...

: Oxford, pp. 95-126. *Oppé, Paul (1923). ''The water-colour drawings of John Sell Cotman''. London: The Studio. *Oppé, Paul (1923). ''Thomas Rowlandson: his drawings and water-colours''. London: The Studio. * *Oppé, Paul (1947). ''The drawings of Paul and Thomas Sandby in the collection of His Majesty the King at Windsor Castle''. Oxford; London: Phaidon Press. * *Oppé, Paul (1950). ''English drawings, Stuart and Georgian periods, in the collection of His Majesty the King at Windsor Castle''. London: Phaidon Press. *Oppé, Paul (1952). ''Alexander & John Robert Cozens''. London: Adam and Charles Black.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oppé, Paul 1878 births 1957 deaths English art collectors English art historians Directors of museums in the United Kingdom Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of New College, Oxford Alumni of the University of St Andrews English art critics People educated at Charterhouse School Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of St Andrews