Art review: Canaletto & the Art of Venice, Queen’s Gallery, Edinburgh

George III was a collector and one of the biggest single acquisitions he made was in 1762, when he bought the library and collection of Venetian art formed by Joseph Smith, always known as Consul Smith, which is the subject of Canaletto & the Art of Venice at the Queen’s Gallery. Born around 1674, Smith moved to Venice as a trader and banker. In 1744 he was appointed British Consul and so acquired his sobriquet. His library and collection were much admired, he himself somewhat less so. James Adam, Robert’s brother, described him as “literally eaten up by his own vanity.” He was nevertheless a shrewd collector and also a dealer. Through his collection, George III, and so in due course our present Queen, came to own the largest collection of Canaletto’s work in the world.