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Collecting
Blyth kept a simple record of his purchases from 1910 to 1956 in a single ‘address book’.
the artists’ names are listed in alphabetical order, with the sizes and purchase prices
of their works. he did not record the dates of any works or the dates when they were
purchased. fortunately he also kept a large number of purchase receipts and letters from
dealers and these have been an invaluable record of the range and scale of his collecting.
two hundred and ten pictures are documented with purchase dates and purchase receipts.
In December 1909, while still living in Mayview, sinclairtown, Kirkcaldy, his
home before Wilby house was built, Blyth spent almost thirty pounds at James Connell
& sons in Glasgow on a vast collection of items. It is probable that Blyth had the decoration
of his new home in mind when he bought these works, which were never recorded in his
purchase book and therefore not considered part of the collection.
for the next ten years Blyth confined his acquisitions almost exclusively to
the works of James lawton Wingate (1846–1924) and William Mctaggart. the level
of spending during this period was high: the average expenditure up until 1920 on
Mctaggart alone was £550 per year.
Jack and alice Blyth
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