The 1928 Flood within the Tate

Paul Delaroche, “The Execution of Girl Jane Gray,” 1834. Oil on canvas, 246 cm × 297 cm (97 in × 117 in). Nationwide Gallery, London. Picture courtesy Wikipedia

Yesterday I used to be watching an episode of “Fake or Fortune” that discusses a flood of the Thames River in January of 1928 (see 31:05 within the video episode linked above). The flood stuffed the decrease galleries of the Tate up to eight feet of water and plenty of work had been broken. One among these work was The Execution of Girl Jane Gray (proven above) which did maintain some harm and tears, however clearly was not destroyed. As an alternative, the portray rolled up and was forgotten till 1973, when a researcher on the Tate found it was rolled up in one other portray that was presumed misplaced within the aftermath of the flood: John Martin’s The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum. I believe there is a component of irony {that a} portray concerning the eruption of Pompeii was almost destroyed in one other power of nature, albeit rising water as an alternative of falling volcanic ash.

Though eighteen work had been listed as broken past restore, these two work by Delaroche and Martin turned up a long time later. The “Pretend or Fortune” episode considers the opportunity of discovering one other one that will have been misplaced within the aftermath of the flood (a portray by Edward Landseer), though I gained’t disclose a spoiler right here! Fortunately, many different artworks escaped harm or skilled minimal harm, together with the brand new murals by Rex Whistler which had been completed for the Tate restaurant solely the yr earlier than in 1927.

The Tate has a list of the paintings partially broken and broken within the flood (in addition to some photographs of the occasion), It seems like no less than one portray, Frederick Lord Leighton’s Helios and Rhodes  (see beneath) has been stored within the assortment however is unable to be restored.

Lord Frederic Leighton, “Helios and Rhodes,” 1830-1896. Oil on canvas, assist 165.8 × 109.9 cm. Tate. Artistic Commons License

This flood has had an influence on modern artwork, too. Artist Julia Fullerton-Batten used pictures and digital instruments to create a scene of workers carrying a painting out of a flooded gallery throughout the Tate. Extra details about this picture and the step-by-step course of utilized by Recom Farmhouse to assist Fullerton-Batten create the scene, “Tate Britain Flood,” is discovered here.

This flood of the Thames in 1928 jogs my memory of the flood of Florence in 1966, which additionally created appreciable harm to artwork. Have you learnt of different artworks which were broken or destroyed because of floods?