23 February 2009

Weekend visit to the Wallace Collection

The Wallace Collection is a world-class private museum covering a range of fine and decorative arts (15th - 19th C), a hoarding of French paintings (18th C), fancy furniture, arms & armour, porcelain and a few choice works by the Old Masters. We didn't get as much time as we would have liked, but we did catch a tour which had some interesting background about the Wallace family - and the illegitimate son who inherited it, then left it to the nation. A condition of the bequest was that no object ever leave the collection, not even on loan.

It has the usual over-saturation of big names (like Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, Canaletto, Velázquez, Gainsborough, Turner and Fragonard), plus mind numbing collections of porcelain etc. I can recommend ending your trip with a revivifying cream tea like we enjoyed...

The place really is a little-known gem, plus they have some suits of armour which you can try on!

It also has the advantage of being in the heart of Marylebone, a swanky part of London with lots of interesting sights, such as Ferraris parked on the side of the road, unusual statues... 

...and anti-fur protestors! (Shame on you MaxMara.)

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