A guide to the Wallace Collection

The Wallace Collection is a British national museum that displays the magnificent works of art collected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the fourth Marquess. It was bequeathed to the British nation by Sir Richards widow, Lady Wallace, in 1897. Displayed at Hertford House, one of the familys London properties back in the nineteenth century, The Wallace Collection introduces its outstanding pieces in a sumptuous but approachable manner, which is an essential part of its charm. The collection is probably best known for its paintings by artists such as Titian, Rembrandt, Frans Hals (The Laughing Cavalier) and Velzquez and for its exceptional collections of eighteenth-century French paintings, porcelain, furniture and gold boxes, probably the best to be found anywhere outside France. Less well known is that The Wallace Collection also features one of the finest groups of princely arms and armour in Europe and, alongside this, beautiful mediaeval and Renaissance objects, including Limoges enamels, majolica, glass and bronzes. This book, reflecting the museums structure, will guide you through the best pieces of the collection.