Cotmania. Vol. XI. 1935-6

ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO BE ADDRESSED TO THE DIRECTOR, CITY ART GALLERY, WENTWORTH TERRACE
E. I. MUSGRAVE
DIRECTOR
O
TELEPHONES
CITY ART GALLERY 2818
CITY MUSEUM 2643

CITY ART GALLERY AND MUSEUM
WAKEFIELD
9th December, 1935

Sydney D. Kitson, Esq.,
Thornbury House,
Kidlington,
Oxon.

Dear Sir,
I regret not having answered your letter before but I have been absent from the Gallery for a week.
The two Cotmans about which you enquire were purchased from a sale at Heath Hall, Wakefield on July 24th, 1935. The house was the property of the late Colonel Smyth, who died about May this year. It is my opinion that the watercolours were purchased from Cotman by a member of the Smyth family, when he was in Yorkshire in 1804, and have been in the house ever since. I had hoped to secure them for Wakefield Art Gallery but unfortunately at the time we had no money in our coffers and I was unable, during the short time at my disposal after seeing the watercolours, to find anyone to buy them for us. I had to withdraw from the bidding at the very modest figure of fifteen guineas each and Mr Walker bought them with his next bid of fifteen and a half. You will, of course, realise that I am giving you this information in strictest confidence. I feel that I am treading