Beginning in the 1950s, John and Charlotte Gere pioneered the collecting of small-scale landscape oil sketches created by eighteenth- and nineteenth-century artists working out of doors. The sketches were not conceived of as finished works of art, were rarely if ever exhibited during the painters' lifetimes, and were often kept in the studio for later consultation.Today the Gere collection numbers some 70 works, the majority of them views of Italy by British, French, Italian, German, Belgian and Scandinavian artists. It includes paintings by such admired figures as Thomas Jones, Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, Simon Denis, Louis Gaufier, Francois-Marius Granet, Gilles Closson, Giovanni-Battista Camuccini and Frederic, Lord Leighton.Two introductory essays provide a background to the collection: Charlotte Gere's memoir charts its formation, while Christopher Riopelle's essay traces the development of the plein-air oil sketch, and its place in European painting. Read Less