Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Collection relating to the purchase of J. M. W. Turner's watercolour "Pass of the Splügen" for John Ruskin, 1878.

BIB_ID
307895
Accession number
MA 7798.1-170
Display Date
1878.
Credit line
Bequest of Helen Gill Viljoen, 1974.
Description
1 box (170 items) unbound ; 28.2 cm
Notes
202 individuals are said to have subscribed to the so-called "Splügen Fund."
J. M. W. Turner's "Pass of the Splügen" is now in a private collection.
Letters from contributors to the subscription fund are arranged alphabetically.
This collection formed part of Helen Gill Viljoen's large bequest of John Ruskin-related material.
Provenance
Bequest of Helen Gill Viljoen in 1974.
Summary
Collection consists of 170 items relating to the purchase (by a subscription fund) of J.M.W. Turner's watercolour "Pass of the Splügen," at H.A.J. Munro's sale (Christie's, 5 April 1878), for presentation to John Ruskin. Collection contains: 153 letters to William Cowper-Temple, Alfred Hunt, and John Simon from individuals sending contributions to the subscription fund; 10 letters between Mr. Cowper-Temple, Mrs. Simon, Margaret Hunt, and Joan and Arthur Severn concerning the subscribers and the purchase of the watercolour; 4 lists of subscribers; a printed notice sent to subscribers reporting that Ruskin received the picture; the subscription fund's bank book issued by Messrs. Coutts & Co.; and an account written by Mrs. Simon of how the idea for the subscription was conceived and implemented.
Housed in
Blue cloth drop-spine box (28.2 cm)