{{Short description|Collection of artwork in London}} [[File:William Mulready (1786-1863) - Interior with John Sheepshanks (1787–1863) - FA.142(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|thumb|''Interior with John Sheepshanks'' by William Mulready. It formed part of the gift in 1857]] The '''Sheepshanks Gift''' was a major donation of artworks by the British art collector John Sheepshanks in 1857. It formed the basis of the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington.<ref>Taylor pp. 71–73</ref>
The Yorkshire-born Sheepshanks had made a fortune as a cloth manufacturer. He was a leading collector of contemporary British art of the late Regency and early Victorian era. He frequently purchased notable paintings at the Royal Academy's annual Summer Exhibition and at the rival British Institution. He amassed works by leading artists such as John Constable, J.M.W. Turner, Clarkson Stanfield, David Roberts, William Mulready, Charles Robert Leslie, and Edwin Landseer. Stylistically, his collection was dominated by the Romantic movement.
The National Gallery in London had been established in 1824 but initially only featured one work by a living British artist David Wilkie's ''The Village Holiday'' which was dominated by Old Masters.<ref>Noon & Bann p. 172</ref> The newer Victoria and Albert Museum was constructed in South Kensington based on the profits of the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. Sheepshanks' gift to the nation was allocated to the newer establishment.he set a number of conditions, particularly that his paintings should be that "the public, and especially the working classes, should have the advantage of seeing the collection on Sunday afternoons". The donation included 336 paintings, drawing and sketches. It was housed in a suite of three rooms specially constructed to showcase the collection.<ref>Taylor p.71</ref>
==Gallery== <Gallery Mode="packed" Heights="160"> File:The Refusal (painting).png|''The Refusal'' by David Wilkie, 1814 File:Constable - Boat-Building near Flatford Mill, 1815, FA.37.jpg|''Boat-Building Near Flatford Mill'' by John Constable, 1815 File:Water Meadows near Salisbury.png|''Water Meadows near Salisbury'' by John Constable, 1820 File:Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873) - The Dog and the Shadow - FA.89(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|''The Dog and the Shadow'' by Edwin Landseer, 1821 File:Margaret Sarah Carpenter (1793-1872) - Devotion - FA.17(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|''Devotion'' by Margaret Sarah Carpenter, 1821 File:John Constable - Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Garden - Google Art Project.jpg|''Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds'' by John Constable, 1823 File:Charles Lock Eastlake (1793-1865) - An Italian Contadina and Her Children - FA.71(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|''An Italian Contadina and Her Children'' by Charles Lock Eastlake, 1823 File:Hampstead Heath, Branch Hill Pond.png|''Hampstead Heath, Branch Hill Pond'' by John Constable, 1828 File:Uncle Toby and Widow Wadman by Charles Robert Leslie CCWSH1157.jpg|''My Uncle Toby and the Widow Wadman'' by Charles Robert Leslie, 1831 File:Sir Edwin Landseer - A Jack In Office.jpg|''A Jack in Office'' by Edwin Landseer, 1833 File:Turner, Joseph Mallord William (RA) - Line Fishing, Off Hastings - Google Art Project.jpg|''Line Fishing, Off Hastings'' by J.M.W. Turner, 1835 File:William Collins (1788-1847) - The Stray Kitten - FA.29(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|''The Stray Kitten'' by William Collins, 1835 File:Charles Landseer (1799-1879) - Maria - FA.104(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|''Maria'' by Charles Landseer, 1836 File:Frederick Richard Lee (1798-1879) - Gathering Seaweed - FA.107(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|''Gathering Seaweed'' by Frederick Richard Lee, 1836 File:The Thames From Millbank.jpg|''The Thames from Millbank'' by Richard Redgrave, 1836 File:Landseer Edwin-Old Shepherds Chief Mourner 1837.jpg|''The Old Shepherd's Chief Mourner'' by Edwin Landseer, 1837 File:Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (1793-1867) - Sands near Boulogne - FA.190(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|''Sands near Boulogne'' by Clarkson Stanfield, 1838 File:Queen Victoria in Her Coronation Robes.jpg|''Queen Victoria in Her Coronation Robes'' by Charles Robert Leslie, 1838 File:William Mulready - The Sonnet - WGA16319.jpg|''The Sonnet'' by William Mulready, 1839 File:John Callcott Horsley (1817-1903) - The Rival Performers - FA.83(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|''The Rival Performers'' by John Calcott Horsley, 1839 File:Richard Redgrave - Cinderella About to Try on the Glass Slipper.jpg|''Cinderella About to Try on the Glass Slipper'' by Richard Redgrave, 1842 File:David Roberts (1796-1864) - The Gate of Metawaley - FA.176(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|''The Gate of Metawaley'' by David Roberts, 1843 File:Seaford, Sussex (painting).jpg|''Seaford, Sussex'' by William Collins, 1844 File:William Mulready (1786-1863) - Blackheath Park - FA.137(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|''Blackheath Park'' by William Mulready, 1852 </gallery>
==See also== * Vernon Gift, an 1847 donation of British art to the National Gallery * Turner Bequest, an 1851 donation enacted in 1856 * Jones Bequest, another major gift of artworks to the Victoria and Albert Museum
==References== {{reflist}}
==Bibliography== * Hamilton, James. ''A Strange Business:Making Art and Money in Nineteenth-Century Britain''. Atlantic Books, 2014. * Noon, Patrick & Bann, Stephen. ''Constable to Delacroix: British Art and the French Romantics''. Tate, 2003. * Roe, Sonia. ''Oil Paintings in Public Ownership in the Victoria and Albert Museum''. Public Catalogue Foundation, 2008. * Taylor, Brandon. ''Art for the Nation: Exhibitions and the London Public, 1747–2001''. Manchester University Press, 1999.
Category:Art museum collections Category:Victoria and Albert Museum