AN ILL TIDE

It is indeed an ill wind that blows nobody good. Perhaps in referring to the recent flood in London, it would be more appropriate to speak of the tide rather than of the wind.

However great a loss the reported destruction of the famous Turner drawings may be for the world of art in general and for the Tate Gallery in particular, this destruction must come in a certain sense as a bore for all who may possess specimens of the master's work in their collections. The destruction of the work of an artist must multiply the value of those works which remain. Philatelists have been known to destroy one of two specimens of a given stamp in order to double the value of the remaining one. Possessors of Turner's drawings are spared this.

We are prone to believe, however, that those who own remaining drawings by Turner would feel a very real regret at the loss of the bulk of the artist's work, in spite of the pecuniary advantage to themselves. They will undoubtedly cling with anxiety to the straw of hope held out by experts that perhaps the major part of the Tate collection was not destroyed.