William Beckford, 1760-1844: An Eye for the Magnificent. ('Oh My God, so Many Things').

Edited by Derek E. Ostergard. Yale. 2002. [pounds sterling]50

This lavish catalogue was published to accompany an exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center, New York and at Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, but though the exhibition focuses mainly on Beckford's collections of porcelain, metalwork and furniture -- all of them superlative pieces -- the catalogue goes much further with 16 essays covering supposedly neglected aspects of the life of this great English Romantic. It is very much the last word on the subject, if that can be believed, for the immense Bibliography (itself only a concise version) demonstrates that Beckford studies are enduring. There are already nine biographies and many of the essays tackle themes already covered 30 years ago. It is, however, useful to have such an overview in one volume though I regret it was not more tightly edited. For example, sustained references to Batalha Monastery occur in Malcolm Jack's essay on Portuguese Palaces, which are repeated in the Fonthill Abbey essay and again in the Catalogue section. Many similar repetitions occ ur.

The strength of the volume, however, is in the essays on Beckford as a collector and the catalogue entries for these virtuoso pieces are meticulously detailed. On the architectural side David Watkin's essay on 'Beckford, Soane and Hope: The Psychology of the Collector' is original and interesting in describing how Beckford was not the 'unique and exotic creature' as has commonly been supposed, but shared many of the intellectual and literary tastes of his two contemporaries as well as the concept of the house as a museum. Beckford's personal taste, however, for the overwrought works of art of the Renaissance and Mannerist eras separates him from the more fastidious collections of Hope and Soane. MARGARET RICHARDSON