Philip Mercier catalogue

Includes primarily research notes, correspondence, copies of original and published material, and images collected and created during research for the Mercier catalogue (Ingamells, J. and Raines, R. A catalogue of paintings, drawings and etchings of Philip Mercier. Annual volume of the Walpole Society, Vol 46, 1976-1978, p.1-70). Most of the images are anotated by Ingamells.

Also includes a considerable amount of material compiled post-publication, including further research, photographs, opinions correspondence, an annoated copy of the published text, and a list of addenda to the catalogue created by Ingamells.

In the mid 1960s whilst employed at York City Art Gallery, John Ingamells began work with Robert Raines (Medical Officer at Hull University and amateur art historian) on an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Philip Mercier. Ingamells applied to the Paul Mellon Foundation for a grant to cover research and publication costs. The application was successful and on 21 June 1969 the exhibition opened at York City Art Gallery. It ran at York until 20 July and then transferred to Kenwood House (29 July-28 September 1969). Ingamells and Raines continued to work on Mercier and in 1978 published a catalogue of his paintings, drawings and etchings in the Walpole Society.

Ingamells' interest in Mercier continued throughout his working life. He corresponded with owners and dealers, collected images and meticulously annotated the published text with amedments and information about additional works. The numbering system of the original catalogue was expanded with all newly identified works being assigned an alphanumeric code. For example, a new version of Young Artist, catalogue entry 136, is given the number 136a by Ingamells. All material collected and received by Ingamells was organised accordingly, with pre and post publication material filed together in order to create a comprehensive and up-to-date record of Mercier's works. In 2010, when the material was donated to the Paul Mellon Centre , Ingamells summarised all the the new information and annotations into a single document 29 page document (JSI/1/23).

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