The Wallace Collection

Today I attended a private tour of the Wallace Collection, which is in Hertford House in London. It is one of the hidden gems of London, a short walk from Bond Street tube station and is located in a beautiful house on Manchester Square. It was bequeathed to the nation by Lady Wallace in 1897, the greatest collection ever bequeathed to a nation. There is a magnificent collection of Sevres porcelain, second only to that owned by Queen Elizabeth, an extensive armoury, exquisite 18th century furniture with Boulle marquetry (made from turtle shell) and it is stuffed full of paintings by Rubens, Titian, Canaletto, Rembrandt, Hals (The Laughing Cavalier)...it is quite unbelievable. Entrance is free, so if you are ever in London, do go see it.

This is a view of the Great Gallery, which was newly refurbished in 2014, and it contains one of the finest collections of Old Master paintings in the world.

It was very cold today, so a good day for being indoors to explore this collection.