Sir Robert Witt in his library
Maker
(artist)
1876-1953
1876-1953
Title
Sir Robert Witt in his library
Date of Production
1919
Medium
graphite on thick wove paper
Dimensions
Height: 36.4 cm
Width: 51.4 cm
Width: 51.4 cm
Accession Number
D.1952.RW.723
Mode of Acquisition
Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Copyright
Work in the public domain
Location
Not currently on display
Keywords
Label Text
This drawing provided the frontispiece for the Catalogue of Painters and Draughtsmen represented in the Library of Reproductions of Pictures and Drawings formed by Robert and Mary Witt, privately printed in 1920. In it, Witt explained his aim 'to form as complete a collection of painters and their individual works as possible', and that the intention behind his method of classification (by artist and subject matter) was to provide 'such a systematic method of arrangement as a dictionary affords'. The approach remains the same today but the material has grown from 150,000 reproductions covering the work of 8,000 individual artists in 1920 to the Witt Library's current 1.8 million images covering 75,000 painters.
Provenance
apparently commissioned from the artist by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), circa 1919 (£30); Witt Bequest 1952
Literature
Blunt, Anthony, Hand-list of the drawings in the Witt Collection, London, 1956
p. 6
p. 6
Inscriptions
Watermark: Watermark: none.
Inscription: Recto: lower right corner of drawing, graphite, signed and dated by the artist: "1919 / Muirhead Bone"’ ; lower right corner of margin, graphite: “19 ½ x 25 ¾”.
Collector's mark: none.
Inscription: Recto: lower right corner of drawing, graphite, signed and dated by the artist: "1919 / Muirhead Bone"’ ; lower right corner of margin, graphite: “19 ½ x 25 ¾”.
Collector's mark: none.
Information on this object may be incomplete and will be updated as research progresses. We are particularly committed to addressing any discriminatory or offensive language and ideas that might be present in our records. To help improve this record, and to enquire about images of The Courtauld Gallery Collection, please email gallery.collectionsonline@courtauld.ac.uk. Find out more about using and licensing our images.
____________________________