IN 1995 A paintings exhibition at the National Gallery, In Trust for the Nation, marked the National Trust’s centenary. An editorial in this Magazine noted the Trust’s paintings were late-comers to its prodigious portfolio, which comprises over 200 houses and their contents, some 160 gardens, 775 miles of coastline and 600,000 acres.
WRITING A CATALOGUE and mounting an exhibition on the life and work of Gerard de Lairesse (1640–1711) was the favourite project of the Dutch art historian Bob van den Boogert. The exhibition, scheduled to be held at the Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede, was postponed when the much-loved Van den Boogert died unexpectedly at the age of fifty-six in spring 2015. The museum staff addressed the situation courageously and enlisted a group of Bob’s colleagues and friends to carry out the project: the result was the exhibition Finally! De Lairesse, the first ever devoted to the artist (closed 22nd January 2017).