Sir George Donaldson (d.1925)

Post date: Feb 10, 2012 5:56:42 PM

Sir George is one of a number of owners of Wateringbury Place who made their substantial wealth before they came to Wateringbury, spent time here playing some role in the local community and often being generous in the way they allowed the community to use the grounds of Wateringbury Place, but sold it rather than leaving to their heirs.

George Hunter Donaldson was born in Edinburgh on 25 May 1845 and settled in Paris in the late 1860s, where he developed an interest in historic furniture. In 1871 he moved to London and opened a gallery in New Bond Street, dealing in works of art until his retirement in the 1890s.

In the 1890s he is known to have been living at Moor House, Stanmore, where he set about recreating his own Italianate villa, importing and commissioning faithful copies of architectural features that particularly impressed him. The Telegraph of 4th February 2012 described the house as follows:

Verona springs to mind when you see the wrought-iron balconies and wooden shutters. But the showpiece of the house is the Venetian room, a splendid formal drawing-room that can compete with some of the grander country houses, and which has an aptly named "coffer" ceiling of sunken panels.

He amassed an important collection of historical musical instruments, which he donated to the Royal College of Music (in South Kensington, immediately opposite the Albert Hall in Prince Consort Road) in 1894. The collection he donated is now housed in a museum area in the college and is open to the public. A room called the Donaldson Room originally housing the collection he gave is now part of the College's library: it has a ceiling decorated with portraits of four of his daughters. Within Wateringbury Church there is a window dedicated to one of his daughters, Adele Violet Blanche Crofton, based on the image in this ceiling. Adele died in 1931 long after her father had sold Wateringbury Place but she must have retained a strong attachment to Wateringbury to have had her ashes interred in the graveyard here.

The Victoria and Albert Museum made its first purchase from him in 1885 and he continued to sell or donate furniture, carpets and ceramics to the Museum until his death. He acted as a juror at the International Exhibitions in Paris in 1867, 1889 and 1900. The 1900 exhibition featured displays of ‘Art Nouveau’, which was then little known in Britain. With the assistance of a grant from the Board of Education, Donaldson presented 30 pieces of Art Nouveau furniture purchased at the 1900 exhibition to the Victoria and Albert Museum, so that British artists and designers could have access to the style that was then so influential in continental Europe.

The collection, which contained important pieces of furniture by Émile Gallé, Louis Majorelle and other artists, was exhibited at the V&A in 1901 but proved controversial among contemporary art critics. On 15th April 1901, the architects John Belcher, Reginald Blomfield, and two designers Mervyn Macartney and Edward Prior wrote to The Times, protesting about Donaldson’s gift. Their two main concerns were that the Continental and American furniture contradicted the Ruskinian premise of truth in design and the corruption that might arise if these objects continued to be on display. Belcher and the other writers believed that the furniture in Donaldon’s gift emphasized visual effect rather than the quality of the materials used and was, therefore, according to their Ruskinian principles, false design. Belcher’s letter expressed the worry that Donaldson’s gift would have a detrimental effect not only on students but also on consumers, allowing them to develop a taste for this hedonistic and extravagant new style. They demanded that the objects be removed from display. And this is what happened, Donaldson’s gift was sent on a tour of the provinces before being banished to the V & A’s auxiliary site in Bethnal Green,where it remained until 1995. It is now in the main V & A building.

He was, nevertheless, knighted some three years after his gift, in 1904.

It was also about this time that he acquired a painting by Titian 'A man with a quilted sleeve' which he came under pressure to sell to the National Gallery which he did for £30,000, the same price as he had paid for it to the Earl of Darnley at Cobham Hall. It had been at Cobham Hall for many years but the Earl was in some financial difficulties.

I am not yet clear when exactly he came to Wateringbury, but it was probably about the time of gaining his knighthood. In December 1904 he is recorded by the vicar that because of his ownership of Wateringbury Place having 'a prescriptive right to seats in the chancel'. He used his short ownership of Wateringbury Place to support the local community:

• • in 1905 he was supporting the start up of a cricket club in the village;

  • for the 1906 hopping he was lending a cottage as the hoppers hospital;

  • Empire Day was celebrated in 1906 in the grounds of Wateringbury Place;

  • in 1907 the Wateringbury Drums and Fife Band held their tatoo in Wateringbury Place's ground.

By 1909, however, the tradition of Christmas Charity at Wateringbury Place had fallen into abeyance , because of 'circumstances' after a couple of years when he had made donations.

In 1912 his wife died. In the same year he lost a high profile lawsuit against him by Alfred Temple in relation to the commission he may have offered Temple on some Old Master paintings which he later sold to a US collector, Senator Clark; it cost him 5% commission on the purchase price of £148,000. He also moved to Hove in the same year. He is known to have commissioned and donated to Hove in 1918 a statue which used to stand outside the town hall until the hall was burnt down in 1966. It was a lifesize statue (a copy of a Canova original) of a dancing girl, barefoot in classical dress, and with hands resting on hips with her right hand holding the edge of her dress. Her right foot is forward and head turned to the left.

He died in Hove in 1925. After his death his collection of letters went up for sale, including letters from Queen Elizabeth I, King Charles I and Oliver Cromwell.

He is buried in the Wateringbury churchyard with his wife and daughter Adele, near to the gate to Wateringbury Place.

Sir George Donalson's writing table (source: New York Public Library)