Sir Dennis Mahon & Prof. Richard Holmes
May 2 2011
Two sad obituaries to note for anyone interested in art and history; the collector and art historian Sir Dennis Mahon at the age of 100, and the soldier and historian Professor Richard Holmes at the age of 65.
Sir Dennis has bequeathed his magnificent collection of Italian baroque pictures to a number of museums, chiefly the National Gallery. He cannily leveraged his gifts on the promise of free entry to museums - and we have him to thank in part every time we go to the National Gallery gratis.
Richard Holmes was best known for his TV programmes on, amongst others, Churchill, Wellington and Cromwell. In an age of dumbed-down, celebrity driven history on television, his programmes were like an oasis in a desert - informative, comprehensive, and also entertaining. I once asked him to give talk at the Houses of Parliament for the All Party History Group. His performance was electrifying, as he told the assembled MPs, peers and ministers (the room was packed) that our presence in Afghanistan was, essentially, doomed to failure. He spoke with authority, for he had not only studied the history of foreign intervention in Afghanistan (what is the score now, Foreigners 0 - Afghans 6?), but had spent a great deal of time there, and was also Britain's most senior Territorial Army officer. The lecture was some years ago now, but I often think of it, for, sadly, it seems he is being proved right.
