London: The Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection, London
The Wallace Collection is housed in Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former London mansion of the Marquesses of Hertford.
The family still have their ancestral seat in Ragley Hall near Stratford upon Avon in the Midlands.
The world class collection of over 5,500 items includes paintings, ceramics, furniture, sculpture and European and Oriental arms and armour.
It belonged to Richard Seymour-Conway, the very wealthy 4th Marquess of Hertford (1800-1870), who spent most of his life in France acquiring now priceless European fine art and other decorative pieces.
The Wallace Collection is free and an absolute must for lovers of European fine arts.
History
The works were left to the unmarried Seymour-Conway's illegitimate son, Richard Wallace, who had served as his father's secretary and also later expanded his huge acquisitions. Wallace's wife left the whole collection to the nation in 1897.
Many of the paintings date from ancien regime France and were purchased by the older Wallace and other collectors in several fire sales after the French Revolution.
Richard Wallace has a much better reputation as a man than his father and was awarded the Legion d'Honneur for his bravery and philanthropy during and after the Siege of Paris (1870-1871).
Collection
The collection is arranged in 25 galleries and includes arms and armour (both Western & Oriental), ceramics, furniture, miniatures, paintings, porcelain, and sculpture.
There are well over 5,000 pieces mainly ranging from the 15th to 19th centuries.
The many Old Masters on display include works by such artists as François Boucher, Canaletto, Fragonard, Murillo, Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian, Velázquez, Van Dyck, and Watteau.
British art is represented by paintings by Thomas Gainsborough, Edwin Landseer, Joshua Reynolds, and J. M. W. Turner.
The armour on display has fine samurai pieces from Japan as well as European Renaissance plate armour. The armour was purchased by Richard Wallace and the collection is of world importance. It also comprises sporting guns, rifles and pistols. Several of the firearms were created for European monarchs and members of the aristocracy.
The rooms where the pieces are displayed are also incredibly beautiful spaces in themselves.
Highlights
Highlights include the The Laughing Cavalier (1624) by Frans Hals, several works by François Boucher and The Swing (1767) by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, considered a masterpiece of Roccoco painting.
The self-portrait of Rembrandt is from early in the artist's life and can be contrasted with a later painting of the artist on display at Kenwood House.
The portrait at Kenwood is from the time when Rembrandt had lost most of his earlier fortune after living beyond his (not inconsiderable) means for most of his life.
Other highlights include exquisite Sèvres porcelain and French furniture as well as the magnificent 18th-century French paintings with several Old Masters.
In addition there are both Renaissance maiolica and Limoges enamels on display.
The furniture collection alone has over 500 pieces and is one of the most important in the world.
Access - how to get to the Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection
Hertford House
Manchester Square
London W1U 3BN
Tel: 0207 563 9500
www: wallacecollection.org
The nearest tube stations are Bond Street (Central Line), Baker Street (Bakerloo Line, Jubilee Line, Circle Line. Hammersmith & City Line and Metropolitan Line) and Oxford Circus (Bakerloo Line, Central Line & Victoria Line). All are 10-15 minutes' away on foot.
London buses 2, 10, 12, 13, 30, 74, 82, 94, 113, 137, 274 all stop close to the gallery.
There are several fine London pubs nearby including the King's Head on Westmoreland Street, and The Devonshire Arms on Duke Street near Selfridge's department store.
Nearby
Located in central London, just north of Oxford Street, the Wallace Collection is close to several other places of interest.
The luxury department store Liberty's is a short walk from here as is Marble Arch and Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. To the north is one of London's finest parks, Regent's Park. The Sherlock Holmes Museum is also nearby on Baker Street and a little to the east is the BT Tower in Fitzrovia.
There are some very exclusive London hotels in the area including Claridge's, Hyatt Regency London - The Churchill and the Langham.
See a listing of London hotels near Oxford Street in this area of the city.
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