Leonardo da Vinci. An account of his development as an artist. The Ryerson lectures delivered October and November 1936 at the School of the Fine Arts, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut by Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark of Saltwood (1903-1983)
Category
Books
Date
1939
Materials
Place of origin
England
Collection
Chartwell, Kent
NT 3127600
Summary
An account of da Vinci’s development as an artist Book gifted by: Kenneth Clark Book Inscription Signature: KC Book Inscription: With the authors deepest admiration & affection
Full description
**The Inscribed Books Collection, to which this book belongs, consists of gift inscriptions on third party books given to Sir Winston Churchill from friends, family, and well-wishers, unsolicited presentation copies of books by strangers, as well as presentation copies from authors who were genuine friends and colleagues. After his death in January 1965, Churchill personally bequeathed the collection via his Will as a testament to his national and international achievements. The Second World War marked a remarkable chapter in the history of the National Gallery. In the summer of 1940 the British army had been forced into retreat at Dunkirk, while France, Belgium and the Netherlands were occupied by Nazi Germany. The invasion of Britain looked imminent, so a plan was needed to protect the national art collection. One proposal was for the paintings to be evacuated by ship to Canada, but the possibility of U-boat attacks worried the Gallery’s director, Kenneth Mackenzie Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983). He went to see Prime Minister Churchill and persuaded him to immediately veto the idea. Instead, Clark proposed the evacuation of the entire collection to a disused cavern in the slate quarries of Manod, north Wales. In the emptied gallery he organized, with Dame Myra Hess, the very popular and morale-raising lunchtime music recitals that continued despite the blitz. Another scheme he devised saw one masterpiece return each month for display. 'Leonardo da Vinci', published in 1939 by Cambridge University Press, provides an account of the Italian's development as an artist. It was written by Clark who as well as being the director of the National Gallery, was a British art historian and patron. He was educated at Wixenford School and Winchester College, and won a scholarship to Trinity College, Oxford where he gained a second class in modern history in 1925. After being introduced to Oxford’s keeper of fine art, Charles F. Bell, along with the drawings and prints of the Ashmolean Museum, Clark’s interests turned to the study of art. Together with Bernard Berenson, there followed two years of concentrated practice and refinement of judgement of works of art in the library at I Tatti and the great collections of Italy. In 1929 Clark was offered the task of cataloguing the Leonardo da Vinci drawings at Windsor Castle. Then in 1931 he accepted Bell's former post, as keeper of the department of fine art at the Ashmolean. Less than three years later, at the unprecedented early age of thirty-one, he was appointed Director of the National Gallery in London, and shortly afterwards became also Surveyor of the King's Pictures. Clark also served in the Ministry of Information, first as director of the film division and then as controller of home publicity. Perpetually frustrated, however, by ministry bureaucracy, he resigned in 1941. He was made a KCB in 1938, FBA in 1949, CH in 1959, and receiving a life peerage in 1969, and the Order of Merit in 1976.
Bibliographic description
xii, 209, [1] p., [68] p.of plates : ill., ports. ; 25cm. Provenance: inscribed "With the authors deepest admiration & affection KC". Binding: publisher's red cloth.
Provenance
The book was gifted to Churchill by Clark himself. According to records, they had known eachother since at least October 1935 when Clark visited Chartwell with his wife, Jane. Clark inscribed the book with his initials and included a brief inscription which reads: “With the authors deepest admiration & affection”
Makers and roles
Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark of Saltwood (1903-1983)