March 2023

Filename: 1collectors_berthon_mrs_e_l_f1891

Mrs. E. L. Berthon

Mrs. E. L. Berthon is of interest because she died in 1891 in possession of a watercolour by J. M. W. Turner, described at lot 121 as 'St. Augustine's Gate, Canterbury'. This sale features in the provenance of an exhibit at Yale (B1975.4.1764) which is a small version of a larger 'St. Augustine's Gate' also in the possession of Yale. Both were donated by Paul Mellon. The main purpose of this investigation is to determine whether, or not, this small version was painted during Turner's visit to Rev. James Douglas in Rochester in September 1792 where Turner painted his first oil, 'Rochester Castle and the Adjacent Ground'.

The Identity of Mrs. E. L. Berthon

Mrs. E. L. Berthon can be identified starting by comparing two paintings in her sale with earlier exhibitions:

• The watercolour 'Christ Healing the Sick' by George Cattermole was exhibited at Manchester 1857; No. 446 page 191 lent by 'Mrs. Preston'. The same watercolour had been shown at Liverpool Town Hall in 1854, No. 100, contributed by R.B. Preston Esq. In Christie's catalogue of May 15th, 1891, the sale of Mrs. E. L. Berthon's collection, Cattermole's 'Christ Healing the Sick' was lot 126.
  This is evidence that Mrs. E. L. Berthon was previously Mrs. Preston.
• J. M. W. Turner's 'Santa Saba' was lot 112 in the E. L. Berthon sale of May 15th, 1891. It was not exhibited at Liverpool Town Hall, 1854, but it was lent by R. B. Preston to Manchester 1857 where it appears on page 188 of the catalogue, No. 358.
  This confirms the link between R. B. Preston and Mrs. E. L. Berthon.

1

Then from her sale catalogue we see the collection described as:

CATALOGUE OF MODERN PICTURES, WATER-COLOUR DRAWINGS, AND SCULPTURE,
THE PROPERTY OF MRS. E. L.BERTHON, Deceased,
late of Prince of Wales' Terrace;

From the probate registry for 1891:

The probate registry shows her address the same as that on Christie's sale catalogue. The entry shows her full name as Eleanor Leonora Berthon and her son, Robert Arthur Berthon Preston at the same address. The son being a 'Preston' suggests a previous marriage.

Further enquries show that she was christened 3rd June 1826 as Eleanor Leonora Rogers. She married her first husband, whose middle name was 'Berthon'; Robert Berthon Preston, the 'R. B. Preston Esq.' of the Liverpool and Manchester catalogues, on 28th November 1850. Robert Berthon Preston died, aged 39, in 1860.
Eleanor Leonora married her second husband, Alderson Berthon, in 1867. He died in 1888. Thus Eleanor Leonora was a widow at the time of her death as shown in her probate entry.
Much of this and more can be found on WikiTree.

However, the questions that must now be answered relate to who and when the collection was started and who bought 'St. Augustine's Gate'

1

LIVERPOOL TOWN HALL 1854
Robert Berthon Preston Loans to the Exhibition

Loans to the 1854 Liverpool Town Hall Exhibition

Robert Berthon Preston contributed 23 works to the 1854 Liverpool Town Hall Exhibition. Six of these appeared in the 1891 E. L. Berthon sale. They are highlighted in red on the list and the titles were the same in the Liverpool and Christie's catalogues with the exception of the work by Calame which in the 1891 sale was (110) 'A Mountain Torrent'.

Born in 1820, Robert Berthon Preston was 34 at the time of the Liverpool exhibition and the collection seems to have been substantial at that time. Artists in his contributions to Liverpool were:

• John ABSOLON
• Alexandre CALAME
• Sir Augustus Wall CALLCOTT
• William CALLOW
• George CATTERMOLE
• Copley FIELDING
• Samuel PROUT
• James Baker PYNE
• David ROBERTS
• Clarkson STANFIELD
• Francis William TOPHAM
• J. M. W. TURNER

G. CATTAMOLE
75 'Petrarch's Tomb'

G. CATTAMOLE
79 'The Escape'

G. CATTERMOLE
87 'Return from Hawking'

S. PROUT
96 'Fountain at Ulm'

G. CATTERMOLE
100 'Christ Healing the Sick'

S. PROUT
102 'Interior of a Church at Ratisbonne'

G. CATTERMOLE
105 'A Monk Reading'

COPLEY FIELDING
106 'Fast Castle'

C. STANFIELD, R.A.
107 'Coast Scene'

Page 9

J.M.W. TURNER, R.A.
126 'Ninevah'

DAVID ROBERTS, R.A.
127 'Ruins at Baalbec'

COPLEY FIELDING
129 'Landscape'

G. CATTERMOLE
131 'The Sacking of a Baronial Hall'

S. PROUT
134 'Ghent'

J.B. PYNE
136 'Dover'

G. CATTERMOLE
138 'The Hawking Party'

W CALLOW
139 'Dieppe'

SIR A.W. CALCOTT R.A. [sic]
141 'Coast Scene'

DAVID ROBERTS R.A.
142 'Remains of the Temple of Medamond, at Thebes'

G. CATTERMOLE
144 'Amy Robsart'

J. ABSALON [sic]
146 'The Desert'

Page 10

CALAME
168 'View in Switzerland'

F.W. TOPHAM
164 'Interior of a Welsh Cottage'

1

MANCHESTER ART TREASURES EXHIBITION 1857

Robert Berthon Preston (& Mrs. Preston) Loans to the Exhibition

Loans to the 1857 Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition

Robert Berthon Preston lent a sculpture and 11 watercolours to the 1857 Manchester Exhibition. Titles highlighted in red (or in blue if there is some doubt) appeared in the 1891 Berthon sale.

He was 37 at the time of the Manchester exhibition. (He died just over two years later.) Artists in his contributions to Manchester were:

• Sir Augustus Wall CALLCOTT
• George CATTERMOLE
• David COX
• Samuel PROUT
• David ROBERTS
• J. M. W. TURNER

This is a substantially shorter list than loans to Liverpool in 1854. No. 446, Cattermole's 'Christ Healing the Sick' was this time lent by Mrs. Preston.

The following were also lent to Liverpool in 1854:

• 214, Callcott, 'Coast Scene'; 141 at Liverpool
• 294a, Prout, 'The Cross at Ulm'; may be 96, 'Fountain at Ulm' at Liverpool
• 446, Cattermole, 'Christ Healing the Sick'; 100 at Liverpool.

Cattermole's 'Amy Robsart' 144, (Liverpool and 1891 Berthon) and Manchester No. 445, 'Amy Robsart and Janet Forster' appear to be two different works.

Page 135 - SCULPTURE

96 The Wounded Amazon [J GIBSON RA] lent by RB Preston Esq.

Page 176 - LIST of CONTRIBUTORS

Mrs. Preston is named as a contributor to the Museum of Ornamental Art

Page 178

DRAWINGS IN WATER-COLOURS

Page 185

SIR AUGUSTUS W CALLCOT [sic]1779-1844
214 Coast Scene lent by RB Preston

Page 187

SAMUEL PROUT d 1852
294a The Cross at Ulm lent by RB Preston

JOSEPH MALLARD WILLIAM TURNER d.1854 [sic]

Page 188

JOSEPH MALLARD WILLIAM TURNER - continued [sic]
358 Santa Saba lent by RB Preston

Page 191

GEORGE CATTERMOLE
445 Amy Robsart and Janet Forster lent by RB Preston Esq.
446 Christ Healing The Sick lent by Mrs. Preston
461 Lane Scene lent by RB Preston Esq.
463 Macbeth and the Three Witches lent by RB Preston Esq.
464 Macbeth lent by ditto (RB Preston Esq.)

Page 192

DAVID COX
480 The Weald of Kent lent by RB Preston Esq.

Page 199

DAVID ROBERTS RA
737 Cordova lent by RB Preston Esq.
738 Burgos lent by ditto (RB Preston Esq.)

1

v_space 40/20/660/20

h_space 56/616/28/616/56

The Berthon Sale

1

v_space 40/20/660/20

h_space 56/616/28/616/56

Overview of the Whole Collection

We attempt a reconstruction of the whole collection by combining the contents of the Liverpool 1854 and Manchester 1857 lists and the Berthon sale of 1891. For each painting we have included provenance notes.

1

v_space 40/20/660/20

h_space 56/616/28/616/56

Overview of the Whole Collection (cont.)

Preston Berthon Collection

1

v_space 40/20/660/20

h_space 56/616/28/616/56

Aquisitions by Robert Berthon Preston

There is no indication that he inherited paintings from his family.

1

v_space 40/20/660/20

h_space 56/616/28/616/56

Preston Loans to Liverpool Town Hall 1854

v_space 40/20/660/20

h_space 56/616/28/616/56

1

Mrs. Eleanor Leonora Berthon

Chapter Header and Subject(s)

v_space 40/20/660/20

h_space 56/616/28/616/56

Extracted from the text section of Graves:

"PROUT, Samuel",1891,May 15,Christie's,,Mrs. E. L. Berthon. 132. Interior of Chartres Cathedral. Drawing Agnew,Agnew,105,0,0,

"TURNER, J. M. W.",1891,May 15,Christie's,,"Mrs. E. L. Berthon. 112. Convent of Santa Saba, Sinai. Dg.",Vokins,53,11,0,

"TURNER, J. M. W.",1891,May 15,Christie's,,"Mrs. E. L. Berthon. 121. St. Augustin's, Canterbury. Drawing",Nathan,19,19,0,

The Berthon sale lots 106 to 108 were engravings

Lots 109 to 132 were Watercolour-Drawings

Lots 133 to 142 were Pictures

Her address was Late of Prince of Wales Terrace, Kensington.

Her only Turners were the two above

v_space 40/20/660/20

h_space 56/616/28/616/56

v_space 40/20/660/20

h_space 56/616/28/616/56

1

v_space 40/20/660/20

h_space 56/616/28/616/56

v_space 40/20/660/20

h_space 56/616/28/616/56

1

v_space 40/20/660/20

h_space 56/616/28/616/56

Preston Loans to Liverpool Town Hall 1854

v_space 40/20/660/20

h_space 56/616/28/616/56

1