A Personal Tribute to Sir Paul Getty KBE by Andrew Stewart Jamieson

This month marks the 8th anniversary of the death of Sir Paul Getty KBE, the reclusive billionaire philanthropist and patron of many good causes.

I had the privilege of meeting Sir Paul in 2000, three years before his death and I spent some time with him discussing art and medieval books, when I visited him at his London home. I was made very welcome and he treated me like he had known me his whole life, we sat in his penthouse in St. James watching cricket on a large television surrounded by the many works of art Sir Paul had collected and when I expressed my admiration especially for a Burne –Jones’ painting we discussed the pre raphaelites as well as my own heraldic work.

Sir Paul was a great bibliophile and knowing my love for medieval books invited me on what was to be the first of several visits to his country estate in Buckinghamshire where he and his charming wife Lady Victoria received me warmly and I was shown the Holy Grail, his library.

Beautifully housed in a building specifically designed, it contained many fine volumes, Sir Paul was particularly interested in fine bindings and I was shown some beautiful examples by his Librarian, Bryan Maggs who was himself part of the esteemed Maggs family who own Maggs Bros., the famous book shop in Berkeley Square. There amongst the models of American battleships in fine display cases I revelled in some very beautiful medieval and glorious Victorian books including a 12th century Psalter and a Kelmscott Chaucer, produced by William Morris.This was of great interest to me because Morris was a founder and early brother of the Art Workers Guild, an august body to which I was elected in 2002.

Sir Paul commissioned an illuminated manuscript book from me based on the poem The Lady of Shalott, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson sadly however by this time Sir Paul was seriously ill but thankfully on my last visit to his estate he was able to see his finished pages. His final words to me were, ‘This is a beautiful work, I only wish I had met you 20 years ago, we could have produced great wonders together’.

Sir Paul Getty, died in April, 2003 he was a true, humble and generous man, who like the illuminated books he so cherished, brought light to the lives of many ordinary people and many causes great and small in the purist tradition of chivalry. He will live long in the memory of those who had the privilege to meet him and I for one count myself honoured to have known this ‘perfect knight’, the world is a darker place without him.