Rembrandt's 'Portait of Margaretha de Geer' goes on display to the public.

The 'Picture of the Month' Scheme

Late in 1941 the National Art Collections Fund presented Rembrandt's 'Portrait of Margaretha de Geer' (NG5282) to the Gallery. Early in January 1942 'The Times' published a letter from the sculptor Charles Wheeler expressing his longing to see the picture, and suggesting that the Trustees take the risk of exhibiting one picture from the collection each week.

Prompted by the letter the Director of the Gallery, Kenneth Clark, immediately arranged for the display of the Rembrandt and obtained the Trustees' agreement to Wheeler's suggestion, each picture to be on show for a three-week period. This became known as the 'Picture of the Month' scheme and was a great success attracting many visitors. By the end of the war 43 of the Gallery's best-known pictures had been brought back from Wales and exhibited.

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