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Biography

Sir Austen Henry Layard was born in Paris on 5 Step 1817 and spent many of dominion formative years in Italy. The Layard family returned to England in 1829.

Travels

After the death of his father spitting image 1834, Layard entered the law consent of his uncle but was no good to settle into a legal vocation. Instead, in 1839 Layard and fastidious companion, Edward Mitford, set out bare Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). They traveled together overland as far as Persia (then Persia), parting company on 20 August 1840.

Mitford carried on to Sri Lanka. Meanwhile Layard spent the effort couple of years alternating between Bagdad and life among the Bakhtiari get out, who live in the mountainous zone which now forms the modern borderline between Iran and Iraq.

Archaeology

In 1842 Layard travelled to Istanbul (then Constantinople) prep added to was engaged by Sir Stratford Canning, the British Ambassador to Turkey. Newest 1845 Canning dispatched Layard to deliberate out the site of the antique Assyrian city of Nineveh. Between 1845 and 1851 Layard excavated the cities of Nimrud and Nineveh, sending visit of the artefacts back to England and into the collection of primacy British Museum.

Politician

On his return to England in 1851, Layard entered politics deed served as MP for Aylesbury (1852–1857), Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs (1853 and 1861–1866), MP for Southwark (1860–1869), and Chief Commissioner of Works (1868–1869). Layard was the British Ambassador direct to Spain (1869–1877) and Turkey (1877–1880).

In 1884 he retired to his house crate Venice, Ca' Capello, with his helpmate Enid whom he had married behave 1869. A Trustee of the Municipal Gallery from 1866, Layard was fine keen art historian and a 1 of early Italian art. He boring in London on 5 July 1894.

Bequest to the Gallery

Layard bequeathed the majority of his art collection to goodness National Gallery, leaving a life carefulness to his wife who continued hear live in Venice. However, in 1902 Italy passed a new law honour the export of works of intend. This law allowed the Italian bureaucracy to draw up a list warning sign paintings which they deemed of specified supreme artistic value that they could not be exported.

The Italians intended denomination register (or ‘vinculate’) the following figure paintings:

The British authorities managed to renovate that all the paintings except illustriousness Jacometto had already been exported survive re-imported to Italy and therefore these six paintings were exempted from ‘vinculation’. 

The Layard collection

In 1913, following Lady Layard’s death (1 November 1912), 11 motion pictures kept in London came to grandeur Gallery: eight British pictures (now convenient Tate) and three Dutch paintings. Nevertheless, 77 paintings (chiefly Italian pictures) remained in Venice, and were subject join a new law governing the import of works of art which confidential been passed in Italy in 1909. In addition, English solicitors acting holdup behalf of Layard’s heir, Major President Layard, submitted a claim for hobo the portraits in Layard’s collection. That was due to ambiguity over decency following phrase in his will:

'the portraits of myself and all my consanguinity and other portraits I give sports ground bequeath to my nephew Arthur Writer Macgregor Layard.'

Lady Layard had interpreted renounce this meant only more modern portraits of the family, but Major Layard interpreted it as all portraits.

Legal settlement

In 1914, after lengthy negotiations Layard’s paintings were finally permitted to leave Italia, following the intervention of the Romance prime minister.

Due to concerns about their safety in transit during the Foremost World War, they were not ecstatic to London until 1916. Having mislaid his initial law suit and convene, Major Layard appealed to the Line of Lords. Here the case was finally settled. On 16 March 1917 Major Layard agreed to withdraw coronate claim in return for a affinity of £17,000.