'Sir Richard Wallace - The Collector'

June 19 2018

Video: The Wallace Collection

Here's an exhibition you really ought to see - a show dedicated to one of the most energetic collectors in art history, Sir Richard Wallace, creator of the eponymous Wallace Collection in London's Manchester Square. The show opens on Wednesday, 20th June, and runs until 6th January 2019. It doesn't just focus on what you might normally expect from the Wallace Collection - say, French 18th Century art - but objects like a gold trophy head from Ghana. More here.

I'm interested in what the Director of the Wallace Collection, Xavier Bray, says in the above video about the generosity of Sir Richard Wallace's collecting ethos. While he was alive he lent his entire collection to an exhibition at Bethnal Green Museum for two years, which was visited by 5 million people. Of course, because of the restrictions put on the Wallace Bequest by Sir Richard's wife, Lady Wallace, no works have ever left Manchester Square on loan. Personally, I think it's time to look again at that apparent restriction (which is not in fact as emphatic as is usually suggested), so that the treasures of the Wallace Collection can be shared around the country - and even the world - just as Sir Richard himself undoubtedly intended.

Update - the show gets five stars in The Guardian.

Notice to "Internet Explorer" Users

You are seeing this notice because you are using Internet Explorer 6.0 (or older version). IE6 is now a deprecated browser which this website no longer supports. To view the Art History News website, you can easily do so by downloading one of the following, freely available browsers:

Once you have upgraded your browser, you can return to this page using the new application, whereupon this notice will have been replaced by the full website and its content.