“ He was born in 1850, was educated at Harrow and Exeter College, Oxford, and for some 10 years after 1880 was art critic to several newspapers, such as the Pall Mall Gazette, the Manchester Guardian, and the old Manchester Examiner. He soon made his mark in the art world, and was consulted by students and collectors, becoming an authority especially on Dutch 17th-century and English 18th-century painting. ”