Frank Hall Standish

Frank Hall Standish, born Frank Hall (2 October 1799 – 1840) was an English art and book collector.

He was born in 1799 at Darlington, County Durham to Charlotte Key and her husband Anthony Hall, the latter dying later the same year. At the age of thirteen he inherited the estate of his distant cousin Sir Frank Standish, including the manor and hall of Duxbury near Chorley, Lancashire. [The inheritance was vigorously contested by a collier named Thomas Standish, “who took forcible possession of the hall, which he barricaded against attack. For a long time disorderly scenes took place in the house and park, but at last the claimant was arrested and imprisoned.” (Quoted from the Victoria County History article "Duxbury", cited below)] He attained the right to bear his benefactor’s surname and arms, but failed in his attempts to succeed to the baronetcy which was extinguished.

During his adult years Standish travelled extensively on the continent, spending much of his very substantial income on the purchase of art works and books. He lived chiefly in Seville. He published a number of long poems, and books of travel and topography

Frank Hall Standish died in 1840 at Cadiz, unmarried and probably without issue. [ In the 1890s, when the manor and estates were sold off, a man claiming to be his son and heir appeared at the sale, but was quickly ejected. (See the Victoria County History article "Duxbury", cited below.) ] The manor of Duxbury and the estates passed to his second cousin, William Standish Carr.

“Piqued at the English ministry's refusal to revive the baronetcy” [Victoria County History] , however, or “as a mark of respect to the French” [National Gallery of Art] he gave his book and art collections to the French king Louis Philippe. Until the revolution of 1848, the art works were displayed in the Standish gallery in the Louvre. Subsequently Louis Philippe reclaimed them as his private property and the whole was sold in 1852–3, the drawings, etc., in Paris and the paintings in London. The books passed to his son, Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale and formed part of the collection which he bequeathed to the Institut de France along with the Château de Chantilly. They are still held there in the Musée Condé.

Publications

* "The life of Voltaire : with interesting particulars respecting his death, and anecdotes and characters of his contemporaries". London, 1821.
* "The maid of Jaen, a poem. With notes and general remarks ... New edition". Chorley: printed & sold by C. Robinson, 1832
* "Timon, a poem, in two cantos". Chorley: C. Robinson, 1833.
* "The bride of Palencia, a poem". London, 1837
* "The shores of the Mediterranean". London, 1837.
* "Notices of the Northern Capitals of Europe". London : Black & Armstrong, 1838
* "Poems : The maid of Jaen; Timon; and The bride of Palencia". London, 1838
* "Seville and its vicinity". London : Black and Armstrong, 1840.

* "Catalogue des tableaux, dessins, et gravures de la collection Standish, légués au Roi par M. F. H. Standish". Paris, 1842

Notes

References

* citation
url= http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pbio?550258
title=John Hall Standish – Biography
publisher = National Gallery of Art
accessdate = 2007-08-03
* citation
url= http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaetano_Melzi
title= Gaetano Melzi
publisher = Italian Wikipedia
accessdate = 2007-08-03
* citation
editor1-first = William
editor1-last = Farrer
editor2-first = Brownbill
editor2-last = J.
title = A History of the County of Lancaster
volume = 6
year = 1911
accessdate = 2007-08-03
publisher = Victoria County History
pages = pp 208–13
chapter = Townships: Duxbury
url = http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.asp?pubid=486
chapter-url = http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=53099 . See particularly [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=53099#n38 note 38] .
* citation
title = Copac Brief Records – Search terms: STANDISH, Frank Hall
url= http://copac.ac.uk/wzgw?so=Reverse+date&fs=Sort&rsn=4&id=07080334cd1b457a33c22a840df5c38f98b2f4
publisher = Copac Academic & National Library Catalogue
accessdate = 2007-08-03.
* citation
url = http://mylesstandish.info
title = Myles Standish.info
accessdate = 2007-08-04 . This website provides information on the Standish family in relation to the American Captain Myles Standish, and his descendents’ attempts to establish a claim to the inheritance.
** citation
url=http://mylesstandish.info/F%20Hall%20Family%20Tree.jpg
title=The Hall Family Tree (jpg)
publisher = [http://mylesstandish.info Myles Standish.info]