Topics

1

News Links / 19th century Russian lanscape painting

« on: June 21, 2004, 01:31:13 PM »

This item may be SLIGHTLY peripheral, but after all, this is a Russian history website (not just N and A!) so those in or visiting London this summer might find it of interest: -


http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/about/press/2004/russian.htm


There is a royal connection, because lots of Nestorov pictures are there (and being critically rather sneered at). Reviewers have been saying that no-one outside Russia has ever heard of any of these artists, which surprised me a lot, but there you go....

Janet

2

Servants, Friends and Retainers / Mr Charles Sydney Gibbes

« on: April 17, 2004, 05:11:13 AM »

Does anyone know what became of the personal collection of C.S Gibbes??? I read that they used to be held at Oxford's Orthodox Chapel - including the chandelier once in Yekaterinburg, and one of Nicky's books, among other things+ Where could these collections be now? I know Mr Gibbes had an adopted son, and thought the items might now be in his ownership, or perhaps they have been removed from this country to Russia? Any ideas?

Elisa

Gibbes' adopted son George (who, incidentally, retained his strong Russian accent to the end of his life) kept at least part of the collections until 1989, when he sent them to form part of the Werner Collection at Luton Hoo. Luton Hoo no longer belongs to the Werner family, and I am uncertain what has ahppened to the collection. Some items used to be on display there; I had the privilege of looking through a lot of the photographs when Mr Gibbes still owned them. I'm afarid he's now dead, I think.
One poster here (David Newell) recently wrote that he is tying to ascertain what has happened to Luton Hoo.

Janet

3

The Alexander Palace / Police records on the movements of the family

« on: February 13, 2004, 02:04:02 PM »

This is a very specific question for Bob, really: -

Are you aware from any of the police records of the family's movements that you have seen whether Alix actually ever visited Rasputin's apartment? - This suggestion may cut against received wisdom on the topic, but it derives from an interesting account by the translator and linguist Gerard Shelley - which you may know of?: -
He claimed to have met her there at the Gorokhovaya apartment in 1916 (I think) and recorded a very full conversation that he had with her on Russian politics, the Church and so forth. He subsequently saw her again in Tsarskoe Selo, probably at Ania V.'s, so it's possible he confused locations?

Anyway - just interested to hear if you know anything about this, as it affects the credibility of his account to a certain degree. His physical description of A. is so spot-on that I am fairly sure they did actually meet, wherever it was....

Many thanks!

Janet