Can anyone tell me if there are still two portraits of German airmen hanging in the gallery at RAF Cranwell.They were presented by Goring (in the1930's I assume)
Who were they and why they were hanging there in August 1944?
Cheers Motherbird
In the 1970s these, amongst other historical artifacts, were on my property book. The provenance you quote is correct but I cannot for the life of me remember who they were! In those day they hung in the college library and that might be the best place to start your enquiries.
As to why they were there in 1944, it is probably because no one knew what to do with them. IIRC they had been presented to the college which was an unusual mix of public and private funding. To give an example, the paintings in the dining room were all donated to the college; mostly by the Old Cranwellians Asociation; and their upkeep was the responsibility of College Hall Mess. So, when they required cleaning the money had to be found from mess funds or donations, the public purse did not bear the cost.
The college had on its walls paintings by David Shepherd, Peter Scott along with Niemann's painting of the Boston Stump. Over the years many significant artists have hung there including Gainsborough and Canaletto, these on loan from their owners' estates. This information was gleaned from the files I held that went back to the 1930s. On a different level there were even some original Bairnsfather drawings and a selection of paintings by official War Artists.
There was a story, that I heard many times, that there was a large storeroom at Cranwell containing a wonderful selection of paintings and other items. It was completely untrue, there was only a dusty boxroom in the west wing containing a few insignificant or unspeakably ugly things that no one wanted. Everything of note or quality was already on the walls.
YS