Alfred Beit, 2nd Baronet

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Sir Alfred Lane Beit, 2nd Baronet (born January 19, 1903 in London , † May 12, 1994 in Dublin ) was a British politician of the Conservative Party , art collector and philanthropist .

Family background

Alfred Beit's uncle was the South African mining millionaire of the same name , after whom the nephew was named. His father was Sir Otto Beit , 1st Baronet (1865–1930), his mother Lilian Carter from New Orleans . When his father died in 1930, Alfred Beit inherited his title of nobility as Baronet , of Tewin Waters in the County of Hertford, as well as a huge fortune that had been acquired by his father and uncle, as well as numerous works of art, including paintings by Goya , Vermeer , Rubens and Gainsborough . He bought a mansion at Kensington Palace Gardens , the most exclusive address in London, to display these works there.

The Beit family has supported numerous scientific and charitable causes, including the Imperial College of Science and Technology , the Rhodes Foundation, and the Beit Memorial Fellowship for Medical Research .

In 1938 Alfred Beit married Clementine Mabell Kitty Freeman-Mitford (born October 22, 1915), the posthumous daughter of Major Clement Mitford, granddaughter of Algernon Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale and cousin of the Mitford siblings , some of whom were ardent admirers of Hitler were. When Clementine visited Unity Mitford in Berlin , she tried in vain to inspire her for fascism. Another cousin, Clementine Hozier, married Winston Churchill .

The marriage of Clementine and Alfred Beit was considered happy, but they remained childless. In the absence of male descendants, his title of nobility expired on his death in 1994.

Political career

In the British general election in 1931 , Sir Alfred Beit was elected to Parliament as a member of the Conservative Party for the constituency of St. Pancras South East and re-elected in 1935 . When World War II broke out, he joined the Royal Air Force and served in the RAF Bomber Command . In 1944, he was appointed private parliamentary secretary to the Secretary of State for the Colonies , Oliver Stanley .

In the 1945 elections , Beit lost his seat in the House of Commons. Disaffected by British politics and in strong opposition to the new Labor Party government , he moved to South Africa with his wife. There, however, they were appalled by how the apartheid system developed after 1948 and soon returned to England.

Later years

Vermeer letter writer and maid , one of the paintings that Beit donated to the National Gallery of Ireland in 1987.

In 1952, on the advice of Lord Dunsany , Alfred Beit bought the Palladian- style Russborough House in County Wicklow, Ireland, and relocated his art collection there. He sold the house in London; the embassy of Iraq was later located there .

The couple continued to travel regularly to Africa and fund schools, libraries and hospitals in Zimbabwe , Malawi and Botswana , but were disappointed at how little these facilities were maintained by their respective governments. They retired to Ireland and dedicated themselves to supporting the arts and the Wexford Festival Opera .

Clementine Beit died in 2005, shortly before her 90th birthday. In her will it was stated that Alfred Beit's diaries should remain secret until 21 years after the death of Elizabeth II or until 70 years after the death of Lady Beit. This clause led to speculation that the diaries contained records of the Queen's private life.

The Beit couple are buried in Blessington .

Art theft and fire

Russborough House , home of the Beits

Up until 2013, attempts were made to steal the Beits' paintings a total of four times. In 1974 a group of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) raided Russborough House and stole 19 paintings. The works were valued at eight million Irish pounds . During the attack, the Beits and their employees were threatened with pistols and handcuffed; Alfred Beit, over 70 years old, was hit on the head with a pistol grip and his wife was pushed down a flight of stairs.

The IRA tried unsuccessfully to use the paintings to extort the transfer of the Dolours and Marian Price sisters , two IRA members who were detained for setting car bombs in London, to a Northern Irish prison and £ 100,000. A few weeks later, the paintings were found in County Cork . The Beits then transferred the art collection to a foundation and moved into a wing of the manor house. Twelve years later, in 1986, the house was again robbed, this time by Dublin criminal Martin Cahill . Cahill and his gang stole 18 paintings valued at £ 30 million Irish pound, all but two later found in Great Britain, Belgium and Turkey. The attack is considered to be one of the largest art thefts in history. In another raid in 2001, two paintings were stolen. The lady of the house was having dinner when an SUV pulled into the front door. Two men got out of it and took the works with them. These images reappeared the following year. In 2002 five paintings, including two by Rubens, were stolen. As a result of the thefts, the Irish state, which had in the meantime come into possession of the collection, decided to bring the unique collection to Dublin, which considerably reduced the tourist attraction of Russbourough.

On February 7, 2010, a fire broke out in the west wing and destroyed, among other things, the entire roof of the wing, which, however, was empty due to renovation work.

Honors

Alfred Beit became an honorary citizen of Ireland in 1993 in recognition of his philanthropy and in particular the donation of 17 painted masterpieces to the National Gallery of Ireland in 1987. The value of the donated paintings has been estimated at 50 to 100 million Irish pounds. The museum itself described this donation as one of the largest single donations in the world to a gallery in this generation . The Beit wing of the National Gallery was named after the Beit couple, who also sat on the board of the institution .

Alfred Beit Foundation

The cultural endeavors of the Beits are carried on by their foundation, the Alfred Beit Foundation , which was established in 1976 and is based in Russborough House . In 2006, the Foundation sold a collection of medieval bronze figures at Christie's in London for £ 2 million to fund renovations to Russborough House .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Diaries will stay secret 'to protect the Queen'. In: The Times . September 11, 2006.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Obituary for Lady Beit on telegraph.co.uk v. September 1, 2005.
  3. ↑ Obituary: Clementine, Lady Beit. In: The Independent . August 27, 2005.
  4. ↑ a b c National Gallery of Ireland ( Memento of December 10, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ^ A b c Russborough House has history of art thefts. RTÉ News, June 26, 2001.
  6. ↑ a b c An Artful Dodge. In: Time . December 8, 2002.
  7. ^ RTE News: No art damaged in Russborough. February 8, 2010.
  8. ↑ Seanad Éireann. Volume 118. January 20, 1988 ( Memento from June 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ^ Kildare Community Network: Russborough House, Blessington.
  10. ^ The Beit Collection of early Italian Bronzes. Catalog October 2006.

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Otto Beit Baronet, of Tewin Water
1930-1994 		Title expired
personal data
SURNAME Beit, Alfred, 2nd Baronet
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Beit, Alfred Lane (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British politician, member of the House of Commons, art collector and philanthropist
DATE OF BIRTH January 19, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH May 12, 1994
Place of death Dublin