Portrait Attributed to Rubens, Flemish Tapestry, in Naumberg Gift to Museum

Under the will of the late Mrs. Aaron Naumberg of New York, the Fogg Museum received last spring a large and important bequest of pictures and other objects.

Mrs. Naumberg's bequest consists of the contents of the living-room, dining-room and entrance hall of her New York apartment. The purpose of the donor was to provide a suite of living-rooms which would be something more intimate than the ordinary museum gallery, wherein could be held receptions for scholars, musicales, or ordinary addresses upon art subjects. As long as the essential character of the rooms is preserved and the more important works retained, the directors are at liberty to remove, rearrange, or add to their contents, as may seem desirable. They are to be known as the Aaron and Nettie G. Naumberg Rooms.

A wide variety is included among the objects which pass thus to the Fogg Museum. The collection has that individuality which is the expression of personal taste and a desire to be surrounded by objects which are lovely in themselves and catch the individual fancy. It was made to be lived with, not to illustrate any particular school or field of art.

The paintings, which form the most important part of the bequest, are the works of several of the old masters. They are mostly of the Italian Renaissance School, with a few Dutch and Spanish pictures. Among the latter is a small canvas of El Greco's "Christ Driving the Money-changers from the Temple." The "Portrait of a Preacher" by Franz Hals, is also included in the collection, as is Murillo's "Holy Family".

Probably the best known painting is the "Portrait of an Old Man," by Rembrandt. Another rare accession is the "Portrait of a Lady" by Peter Paul Rubens, shown on this page.

The tapestry is dated about 1600. Its subject is undetermined, but it may possibly represent David receiving the news of the death of Uriah the Hittite. It is shown below.

The portrait ascribed to Rubens is a replica of that at Windsor Castle. Two other versions, with only slight variations, are to be found in the Uffizi and the Museum of Nantes. It is possible that this version was painted by one of his pupils.