The altarpiece was given to the College by Dr John Burton, DD (1690-1774), Headmaster from 1724 to 1766. The entry in the College’s Book of Benefactions (p.97) records: ‘John Burton DD, near 50 years Schoolmaster of Winchester College. In 1729 gave a beautiful salutation piece painted by Le Moine, placed over the Altar in the Chapel which cost 80 guineas’. The painting was installed in the late 14^th-century chapel within a scheme of Baroque panelling which had been fitted in 1680-82. The Annunciation was depicted in this setting in 1802 in a watercolour by John Cave. The panelling was dismantled in 1864-74 as part of William Butterfield’s re-ordering of Chapel, and is now in New Hall. The painting was moved to the Warden’s Lodgings where it remained until 1998, when it returned to Chapel and was hung over the altar in Thurburn’s Chantry. Since 2011 it has been on loan to the National Gallery, London.

Literature: F.B. Lepicie (ed.), Vies des premiers peintres du roi depuis M. Lebrun, jusqu’à present (Paris, 1752), II, p. 119; C. Ball, An Historical Account of Winchester with Descriptive Walks (Winchester, 1818), p. 155; P. de Chennevieres and A. de Montaiglon (eds.), Abecedario de P.J. Mariette et Autres Notes Inedites de Cet Amateur sur Les Arts et Les Artistes, (Paris, 1851-62), III, p. 133; H. Adams, Wykehamica: A History of Winchester College and Commoners, from the Foundation to the Present Day (Winchester, 1878), pp. 117-133; J.-L. Bordeaux, Francois Le Moyne and his generation, 1688-1737 (Neuilly-sur-Seine, 1984), pp. 107-08, no.66; A. Morgan, ‘A Salutation’, The Wykehamist (February 1999), pp.12-13; Christopher Rowell, ‘François Lemoyne’s ‘Annunciation’ (1727) rediscovered at Winchester College’, The Burlington Magazine, 154 (2012), pp. 177-81; R. Foster, Winchester College Treasury: a guide to the collections (Winchester, 2019), pp. 10-11; R. Foster (ed.), 50 Treasures from Winchester College (London, 2019), pp. 18, 100-01

Provenance: Given in 1729 by John Burton (Headmaster, 1724-66)

Location: On loan to the National Gallery, London