Oliver Millar
Encyclopedia
Sir Oliver Nicholas Millar, GCVO
, FSA
, FBA, (26 April 1923 – 10 May 2007) was a British
art historian. He was an expert on 17th century British painting, and a leading authority on Anthony van Dyck
in particular. He served in the Royal Household
for 41 years from 1947, becoming Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures
in 1972. He was the first Director of the Royal Collection
from 1987. He served in both offices until his retirement in 1988.
in Hertfordshire
. He was the elder son of Gerald Millar, MC
and his wife Ruth. His paternal grandmother, Beatrix ("Trixie"), was the daughter of author George du Maurier
and the sister of Gerald du Maurier
(himself the father of Daphne du Maurier
) and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (whose children with Arthur Llewelyn Davies
were adopted by J.M. Barrie); she had married Charlie Millar in the 1880s.
Millar was educated at Rugby School
and the Courtauld Institute of Art
at the University of London
, graduating with an Academic Diploma in the History of Art. Among his teachers at the Courtauld was its director, Anthony Blunt
. When Blunt succeeded Kenneth Clark
as Surveyor of the King's Pictures in 1945, Millar asked him for a job. He became an Assistant Surveyor in 1947.
He married Delia Dawnay in 1954. She was the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Cuthbert Dawnay, MC. They had a son and three daughters. His wife died in 2004. He died instantly of a heart attack whilst walking across St James's Square in London having come from an appointment at Christie's to look at a picture by Lely.
is one of the largest and most important art collections in the world, held in trust by Queen Elizabeth II
as Sovereign
for her successors and the United Kingdom. The paintings comprise one of the best known and most significant elements of the Collection, hanging in royal palaces and other residences, including Windsor Castle
, Hampton Court, Buckingham Palace
and Sandringham
.
After two years as an Assistant Surveyor, Millar was promoted to Deputy Surveyor in 1949 in place of Benedict Nicolson
, who resigned to spend more time on another of his responsibilities, editing The Burlington Magazine
. Millar was appointed MVO in 1953, and advanced to CVO in 1963.
In addition to taking responsibility for much of the day to day administration of the Royal Collection, Millar also wrote many catalogues and other works. He published a book on Thomas Gainsborough
in 1949, and another on William Dobson
in 1951. He co-wrote English Art, 1625–1714 with Margaret Whinney in 1957. The same year, he selected 37 works by van Dyck to be exhibited at the winter exhibition of Flemish art at the Royal Academy
. He published a catalogue of the Tudor, Stuart and Early Georgian paintings in the Royal Collection in 1963, followed by a volume of Later Georgian pictures in 1969 and a two volume catalogue of Victorian pictures in the Royal Collection in 1992.
He edited the Inventories and Valuations of the King's Goods, published in 1972, based on an inventory of the possessions of Charles I
originally complied in around 1639 by the first Surveyor, Abraham van der Doort
. Millar reckoned that Charles' collection was the best single English collection of paintings ever made, but it was broken up and sold at auction in 1649 after the king was executed. Also in 1972, Millar also wrote the catalogue for an exhibition of "The Age of Charles I" at the Tate Gallery
.
After 23 years as Deputy, Millar succeeded Anthony Blunt
as Surveyor in 1972, and was advanced to KCVO in 1973. The Royal Collection became more professional in its outlook under his stewardship. The Surveyor had historically been a part-time position, under the overall supervision of the Lord Chamberlain
since 1625, based at St James's Palace. Millar was the first full-time Surveyor, and the Royal Collection employed its first full-time picture restorer in 1981. He broke free from the Lord Chamberlain in the 1980s, when he became the first Director of the Royal Collection in 1987, adding overall responsibility for the Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art
and the Royal Librarian.
Millar continued to publish catalogues and other works. He published The Queen's Pictures in 1977, a general account of the Royal Collection, and wrote the catalogues for exhibitions of works at the National Portrait Gallery by Sir Peter Lely in 1978 and "Van Dyck in England" in 1982, selecting himself the 65 paintings and 22 drawings for the latter exhibition.
He also wrote for The Burlington Magazine
and other art history journals. Between 1962 and his retirement in 1988, he was responsible for mounting 12 public exhibitions at the Queen's Gallery
at Buckingham Palace, attracting almost 2.5 million visitors in all.
He was appointed Surveyor Emeritus and advanced to GCVO on his retirement in 1988. He wrote the chapter on Van Dyck's English period for Van Dyck, A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, published in 2004.
in 1970. He was a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery from 1972 to 1995, and a member of the Reviewing Committee on Export of Works of Art from 1975 to 1987. He was a member of the executive committee of the National Art Collections Fund
from 1986 to 1998, and a trustee of the National Heritage Memorial Fund
from 1988 to 1992. He was also a Visitor at the Ashmolean Museum
from 1987 to 1993, Chairman of the Patrons of British Art from 1989 to 1997, and President of the Walpole Society
from 1998 to 2007.
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, FSA
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
, FBA, (26 April 1923 – 10 May 2007) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
art historian. He was an expert on 17th century British painting, and a leading authority on Anthony van Dyck
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
in particular. He served in the Royal Household
Royal Household
A Royal Household in ancient and medieval monarchies formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and his relations....
for 41 years from 1947, becoming Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures
Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures
The office of the Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Pictures, in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of pictures owned by the Sovereign in an official capacity – as...
in 1972. He was the first Director of the Royal Collection
Director of the Royal Collection
The Director of the Royal Collection is head of the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The post was relatively new, having been established only in 1987.-List of Directors of the Royal Collection:...
from 1987. He served in both offices until his retirement in 1988.
Early and private life
Millar was born in StandonStandon
Standon could be:*Standon, Hampshire*Standon, Hertfordshire*Standon, Staffordshire*Standon Green End, Hertfordshire...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. He was the elder son of Gerald Millar, MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
and his wife Ruth. His paternal grandmother, Beatrix ("Trixie"), was the daughter of author George du Maurier
George du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a French-born British cartoonist and author, known for his cartoons in Punch and also for his novel Trilby. He was the father of actor Gerald du Maurier and grandfather of the writers Angela du Maurier and Dame Daphne du Maurier...
and the sister of Gerald du Maurier
Gerald du Maurier
Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier was an English actor and manager. He was the son of the writer George du Maurier and brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. In 1902, he married the actress Muriel Beaumont with whom he had three daughters: Angela du Maurier , Daphne du Maurier and Jeanne...
(himself the father of Daphne du Maurier
Daphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
) and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (whose children with Arthur Llewelyn Davies
Arthur Llewelyn Davies
Arthur Llewelyn Davies was a respected barrister, but is best known as the father of the boys who served as the inspiration for Peter Pan and the other children of J. M. Barrie's stories of Neverland...
were adopted by J.M. Barrie); she had married Charlie Millar in the 1880s.
Millar was educated at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
and the Courtauld Institute of Art
Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art. The Courtauld is one of the premier centres for the teaching of art history in the world; it was the only History of Art department in the UK to be awarded a top...
at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, graduating with an Academic Diploma in the History of Art. Among his teachers at the Courtauld was its director, Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
. When Blunt succeeded Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth McKenzie Clark, Baron Clark, OM, CH, KCB, FBA was a British author, museum director, broadcaster, and one of the best-known art historians of his generation...
as Surveyor of the King's Pictures in 1945, Millar asked him for a job. He became an Assistant Surveyor in 1947.
He married Delia Dawnay in 1954. She was the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Cuthbert Dawnay, MC. They had a son and three daughters. His wife died in 2004. He died instantly of a heart attack whilst walking across St James's Square in London having come from an appointment at Christie's to look at a picture by Lely.
Career in the Royal Household
The Royal CollectionRoyal Collection
The Royal Collection is the art collection of the British Royal Family. It is property of the monarch as sovereign, but is held in trust for her successors and the nation. It contains over 7,000 paintings, 40,000 watercolours and drawings, and about 150,000 old master prints, as well as historical...
is one of the largest and most important art collections in the world, held in trust by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
as Sovereign
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
for her successors and the United Kingdom. The paintings comprise one of the best known and most significant elements of the Collection, hanging in royal palaces and other residences, including Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
, Hampton Court, Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
and Sandringham
Sandringham
Sandringham can refer to:Places*Sandringham, Johannesburg, a suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa*Sandringham, Norfolk, a village in Norfolk, England*Sandringham House in the aforementioned village, owned by the British Royal Family...
.
After two years as an Assistant Surveyor, Millar was promoted to Deputy Surveyor in 1949 in place of Benedict Nicolson
Benedict Nicolson
Benedict Nicolson, MVO was a British art historian and author.Nicolson was the elder son of authors Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West and the brother of writer and politician Nigel...
, who resigned to spend more time on another of his responsibilities, editing The Burlington Magazine
The Burlington Magazine
The Burlington Magazine is a monthly academic journal that covers the fine and decorative arts. It is the longest running art journal in the English language and it is a charitable organisation since 1986. It was established in 1903 by a group of art historians and connoisseurs which included Roger...
. Millar was appointed MVO in 1953, and advanced to CVO in 1963.
In addition to taking responsibility for much of the day to day administration of the Royal Collection, Millar also wrote many catalogues and other works. He published a book on Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...
in 1949, and another on William Dobson
William Dobson
William Dobson was a portraitist and one of the first notable English painters, praised by his contemporary John Aubrey as "the most excellent painter that England has yet bred"....
in 1951. He co-wrote English Art, 1625–1714 with Margaret Whinney in 1957. The same year, he selected 37 works by van Dyck to be exhibited at the winter exhibition of Flemish art at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
. He published a catalogue of the Tudor, Stuart and Early Georgian paintings in the Royal Collection in 1963, followed by a volume of Later Georgian pictures in 1969 and a two volume catalogue of Victorian pictures in the Royal Collection in 1992.
He edited the Inventories and Valuations of the King's Goods, published in 1972, based on an inventory of the possessions of Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
originally complied in around 1639 by the first Surveyor, Abraham van der Doort
Abraham van der Doort
Abraham van der Doort was a Dutch artist. As Keeper of Charles I's art collections, he was the first Surveyor of the King's Pictures....
. Millar reckoned that Charles' collection was the best single English collection of paintings ever made, but it was broken up and sold at auction in 1649 after the king was executed. Also in 1972, Millar also wrote the catalogue for an exhibition of "The Age of Charles I" at the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
.
After 23 years as Deputy, Millar succeeded Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
as Surveyor in 1972, and was advanced to KCVO in 1973. The Royal Collection became more professional in its outlook under his stewardship. The Surveyor had historically been a part-time position, under the overall supervision of the Lord Chamberlain
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
since 1625, based at St James's Palace. Millar was the first full-time Surveyor, and the Royal Collection employed its first full-time picture restorer in 1981. He broke free from the Lord Chamberlain in the 1980s, when he became the first Director of the Royal Collection in 1987, adding overall responsibility for the Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art
Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art
The office of Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Works of Art in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of works of art owned by the Sovereign in an official capacity — as...
and the Royal Librarian.
Millar continued to publish catalogues and other works. He published The Queen's Pictures in 1977, a general account of the Royal Collection, and wrote the catalogues for exhibitions of works at the National Portrait Gallery by Sir Peter Lely in 1978 and "Van Dyck in England" in 1982, selecting himself the 65 paintings and 22 drawings for the latter exhibition.
He also wrote for The Burlington Magazine
The Burlington Magazine
The Burlington Magazine is a monthly academic journal that covers the fine and decorative arts. It is the longest running art journal in the English language and it is a charitable organisation since 1986. It was established in 1903 by a group of art historians and connoisseurs which included Roger...
and other art history journals. Between 1962 and his retirement in 1988, he was responsible for mounting 12 public exhibitions at the Queen's Gallery
Queen's Gallery
The Queen's Gallery is a public art gallery located at Buckingham Palace, home of the British monarch, in London. It exhibits works of art from the Royal Collection The Queen's Gallery is a public art gallery located at Buckingham Palace, home of the British monarch, in London. It exhibits works of...
at Buckingham Palace, attracting almost 2.5 million visitors in all.
He was appointed Surveyor Emeritus and advanced to GCVO on his retirement in 1988. He wrote the chapter on Van Dyck's English period for Van Dyck, A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, published in 2004.
Other positions
Millar became a Fellow of the British AcademyBritish Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
in 1970. He was a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery from 1972 to 1995, and a member of the Reviewing Committee on Export of Works of Art from 1975 to 1987. He was a member of the executive committee of the National Art Collections Fund
National Art Collections Fund
The Art Fund is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as well as lobbying on behalf of museums and galleries and their users...
from 1986 to 1998, and a trustee of the National Heritage Memorial Fund
National Heritage Memorial Fund
The National Heritage Memorial Fund is a non-departmental public body set up under the National Heritage Act 1980 in memory of people who gave their lives for the United Kingdom....
from 1988 to 1992. He was also a Visitor at the Ashmolean Museum
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
from 1987 to 1993, Chairman of the Patrons of British Art from 1989 to 1997, and President of the Walpole Society
Walpole Society
The Walpole Society, named after Horace Walpole, was formed in 1911 to promote the study of the history of British art.From 1762 on, Walpole had published the first history of art in Britain, based on the manuscript notebooks of George Vertue, the most important source of information concerning...
from 1998 to 2007.