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Mobs Fought to See `Treasure Houses'; So why aren't they thronging the National Gallery's new show now?

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From: The Washington Post
Date: 19870104
Author:Joseph Alsop

"All the qualities of a perfect painter never met, except in Raphael, Guido and Annibale." This assertion by Horace Walpole comes from his catalogue of the famous art collection formed by his father, Sir Robert, England's first prime minister in all but name.

There is a tempting lot to say about the Walpoles. The son, a pioneer of the Gothic revival, was a mincing fellow but also the finest letter writer in the English language. The tougher father cared about political patronage, not letters, and he cheerily explained that he always "talked bawdy" at his own table because this was the one ...

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