The Wallace Collection: How eight oil paintings became one of London’s best kept secrets
The Wallace Collection exudes a calmness. Walking from Oxford Street station and wading through the pandemonium of shoppers, tourists and business people, Hertford House, shaded by green leafed trees, greets you in the most unexpected way. As you turn the corner of Manchester Street the dull pink brick of Herford House, home of the Wallace Collection, meets your eye. People walk past its gates, sit on the benches that decorate its entrance path and draw sketches on the patch of grass, so well-kept even an ant’s footprint would disrupt its green consistency. It contrasts the hustle and bustle that fills it neighbouring streets. It is silent but in the most comforting way.
It is hard not to become transfixed on Hertford Houses idiosyncratic disposition. The building seems to be fixed in a time long past. Everything around it has changed, but Hertford House and the Wallace Collection have stayed exactly the same.
Upon entering the museum, you are immediately transported — crossing its threshold is like shutting the door on modern life and entering the decadent world of aristocratic 19th Century London. As soon as you walk in you are met with a grand staircase, sporting marble handrails and a lush floral carpet. Paintings by old masters in a Baroque and Renaissance style adorn the walls which are covered in luxurious fabric wallpaper. White and black neo-classical statues greet you as you walk through the house whilst ornate French furniture invites you to sit down and soak in the art. On closer inspection you can see small signs on the sofas, chairs and tables which read ‘this is art please do not sit.’ For this is the beauty of the Wallace Collection, everything is part of a collection that has been perfectly preserved since its creation and walking through you feel as though you are a part of its history.
Dwarfed by some of London’s most popular art galleries, The Wallace Collection retains a modesty that it has carried since its humble beginnings. Starting off as eight oil paintings, collected in the 18th Century, The Wallace Collection is now home to around 5,500 works of art, including; furniture, porcelain, paintings and armour, all free for the public to enjoy. But how did these eight oil paintings turn into one of London’s best-kept secrets?
As a loyal Tory courtier and Paris ambassador in the 18th Century, Francis Seymor-Conway (1st Marquess of Hertford), began what became The Wallace Collection after acquiring six paintings by Canaletto and his Italian school, and commissioning two portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Passing on these paintings to his son, the 2nd Marquess of Hertford, three more paintings were added to the collection along with French furniture and Sèvers porcelain. Continuing this antiquarian lifestyle for a further three generations the aristocratic family accumulated works ranging from; Titan, to Velázquez and Rembrandt to Rubens, boasting works such as the Laughing Cavalier (1624, Frans Hals) and holding some of the most important French furniture in the world. The museum’s namesake, Sir Richard Wallace (the 4th Marquess of Hertford), inherited the collection in 1870. After living in Paris for most of his life, the philanthropist returned to Hertford House, bringing with him some of his finest paintings — creating The Wallace Collection that visitors now see today.
Unable to leave his family’s collection to the British public, as he wished, due to prevention from the government of the day, Sir Richard Wallace left the collection to his wife, Lady Wallace. Receiving the collection after her husband’s death in 1890, Lady Wallace wanted to fulfil her husband’s dying wish. She therefore decided she would bequeath the collection to the British Nation following her death — under the condition, however, that no art was to be added or taken away. Since her death in 1897 visitors of the Wallace have been able to appreciate the collection in its near original form.
The almost untouched nature of this collection is what gives the Wallace Collection its uniqueness. Unlike most other galleries, where paintings are hung on a white wall, sitting an appropriate distance from their counterparts, paintings here are hung wherever there is room. Slivers of colourful wallpaper vie for breathing space as grand golden frames compete for attention.
With 24 rooms, the museum/house shows off its outstanding collection of art in its most natural form. Each room is decorated in a way that reflects the mood of the art it is displaying. A room exhibiting Venetian landscapes is complimented by a blue wallpaper, which subtly picks up the colour of the sea in the paintings it displays, whilst a room decorated in light pink wallpaper compliments the romantic genre paintings of the Rococo style.
The museum’s ability to take you from room to room whilst seamlessly and subtly changing styles and atmospheres is what gives the Wallace Collection its unique feel. Taking away the cold and sterile feeling of a modern art gallery, The Wallace Collection gives its visitors something much more personal and reflective.
With a seemingly under-curated style, the amount of art fitted into one room can seem overwhelming. However, once you enter the museums Great Hall on the second floor, the house opens up into an immense display of grand masterpieces. With red wallpaper and a sky-light beautifully illuminating the room, The Great Hall juxtaposes boast the Collections most famous pieces, such as the Laughing Cavalier by Frans Hals. Art in a variety of sizes decorate the walls, from epic religious depictions to small genre paintings and quaint landscapes.
Despite its appealing range of art, however, you never find yourself waiting behind a sea of cameras hoping to catch a glimpse of ‘that’ famous painting. The ability to take in these masterpieces, almost undisturbed, gives the museum a sense of comfort, making its visitors feel at home.
That is not to say, however, that The Wallace Collection is empty and desperately hoping for public interest. With 2018 marking the 200th anniversary of Sir Richard Wallace, the museum has done a lot in its lifetime to gain public attention. The Collections Centenary Project, taking place in 2000, an ambitious architectural project to help improve visitors access, created 30% more public space in the museum’s basement and courtyard. The Wallace Collection also hosts Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year. Alongside this, the museum’s educational department encourages children to come and learn about the collections art and its history first hand.
Welcoming 400,000 people in 2016–2017, The Wallace Collection is still somewhat hidden away, with most tourist and Londoners unaware of its existence. Eclipsed by heavyweights, such as The National Gallery and The Tate (both boasting over 5 million visitors last year), The Wallace Collection is still a modest gallery in comparison. However, it is this modesty juxtaposed with an awe-inspiring opulence, that makes the Wallace Collection what it is today — one of London’s best-kept secrets, 300 years on and 5,492 paintings later.
