Ah, The Wallace Collection! Even as I contemplate only tackling the highlights, the vastness of this collection overwhelms me and I know that it is a practically impossible task.
Still, today I am in London and, after a long, long time, have returned to my favorite museum. Although I do love a good museum and have been fortunate enough to have browsed through many a fine collection, The Wallace Collection is firmly at the top of my list. So I am certainly not going to let a little thing like whittling the collection down to a select few get me down. And so, I begin.
The Dining Room
The dining room is a simple, light room that looks out to the in-house restaurant by Peyton and Byrne. The elegant striped sage wall covering and light floor boards give it a more modern feel than some of the other rooms and yet the decoration remains firmly bedded in history.
This exquisite portrait by Jean-Marc Nattier (1685 – 1766) depicts the mademoiselle De Chateau-Renaud, usually associated with the Count of Monte Cristo. However it is the simplicity and lightness of the room combined with the pretty color and view into the conservatory that appeals most to me, although that chair does look rather comfy.
The next painting brings more somber thoughts as a dog guards some dead, presumably hunted game amid a tangle of overgrown foliage. In the scene the dog looks lonely and forlorn and the setting seems abandoned giving a sense of melancholy and pointlessness.
The clock, on the other hand, takes my thoughts to myths with the sphinxes jealously guarding this beautiful time piece.
Good To Know
The Wallace Collection was established in 1897 from the private collection of the Marquesses of Hertford. Although he was illegitimate, Sir Richard Wallace, whom the collection was named for, inherited the collection and the house from his father the 4th Marquee. It was Sir Richard’s widow who bequeathed the collection to the British nation and a few years later the state purchased the house such that the collection remained on display here. The Wallace Collection opened to the public in 1900.
See some of the other rooms in the Collection or explore another of my favorite museums:
- East Gallery II
- The Front State Room
- Manolo Blahnik: An Enquiring Mind
- The Smoking Room
- European Armoury II
- Catherine Palace
- National Gallery of Australia
Would I Return?
Yes. Absolutely and unequivocally yes.
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