Lady Clementine Beit: The name of Lady Clementine Beit, like that of her husband, Sir Alfred, is indelibly associated with the Beit Foundation and its art collection.
The collection, of superlative quality, includes outstanding works by Vermeer, Goya, Gabriel Metsu, Velásquez, Jan Steen and many others. The foundation was established by Sir Alfred and Lady Beit in 1976 for the purpose of transferring their entire art collection and their home, Russborough House in Co Wicklow, to the State.
In 1987 the foundation donated 17 of the finest paintings from Russborough to the National Gallery of Ireland.
Clementine Mabel Kitty Freeman-Mitford was born on October 22nd, 1915. Her mother was Lady Helen Alice Wyllington Ogilvy. By the time of her birth her father, Maj the Hon Clement Bertram Ogilvy Freeman-Mitford had been killed in action on the western front.
She met Sir Alfred Beit, then a Tory MP, in the late 1930s, and they married in April 1939. On the outbreak of war they both became involved in the war effort.
Afterwards they spent more time in South Africa, where Sir Alfred had business interests related to the gold and diamond trade.
The Beit art collection was built early in the 20th century by Alfred Beit (Sir Alfred Beit's uncle). When Alfred died in 1905, Otto Beit, Sir Alfred's father, inherited and continued to acquire paintings. Following the deaths of his parents, the bulk of the collection passed to Sir Alfred and Clementine.
Unhappy with the apartheid regime in South Africa, they moved to Ireland in 1952, though they continued to visit South Africa each winter. Sir Alfred was appointed to the board of the National Gallery of Ireland in 1967. The Beits and their collection became the target of successive robberies, the first involving Brigid Rose Dugdale in 1974 when 19 paintings were taken, but recovered in a cottage in Co Cork. In 1986 Martin Cahill, "The General", and his gang raided Russborough and made off with 17 paintings, including many of the most celebrated works. Several of the paintings were not recovered until 1994, and two are still missing.
Like her husband, Lady Beit served on the board of the National Gallery and, independently of the Beit Collection, she made several important donations, including works by Jack B Yeats and Turner. She was an informed and enthusiastic art lover and had an intimate knowledge of the works in the Beit collection.
She took a close interest in Russborough and the wellbeing of its staff. Although formidable, she had a sense of humour and was a keen conversationalist. Latterly she had become an Irish citizen and was made an honorary member of the RDS.
Lady Beit was predeceased by her husband Sir Alfred.
Lady Clementine Beit - born 1915; died August 17th, 2005