Time Was

WALFORD GRAHAM ROBERTSON
(1866-1948)

A painter, theatrical designer, writer and a critic, Walford Graham Robertson (1866-1948) moved amongst the cultural and theatrical sets of London. As a young man he was a companion of Oscar Wilde and knew Burne-Jones, and later part of the circle around Noel Coward. He was an acolyte of Ellen Terry and Sarah Bernhardt, and was as happy in Paris as he was in London. He was an early collector of paintings by Whistler, and by the age of twenty, Robertson owned 20 pictures by William Blake, the nucleus of an extensive collection which he left to the Tate Gallery
This exhibition consists of a unique and personal collection of pictures, books and objects from the family of Robertson’s friend, the Hampshire lawyer Kerrison Preston, who was also Robertson’s literary executor. Interspersed amongst the Preston things in this exhibition are pictures from the Maas Gallery relating to his world and time.
VIEW WORKS
"His charmed life could almost have come from one of his own fairy stories. He achieved success in everything he set out to do and financial stability provided him with a comfortable way of life, allowing him to do exactly as he pleased."

-Annabel Watts

READ THE FULL ESSAY BY ANNABEL WATTS, WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY RUPERT MAAS
A MAN ABOUT TOWN
- OSCAR WILDE
  
  "As conversationalist he was brilliant. He had both wit and humour, a combination not often met with"
JUSTIN CROFT ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS

In collaboration with Justin Croft, we also present a selection of antiquarian books connected to Walford Graham Robertson, including a first edition of The Wind In the Willows with frontispiece by Robertson, inscribed with a dedication to him.

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