Event Details

This year the Wallace Collection opens its new £1.2 million exhibition space with Sir Richard Wallace: The Collector, an exhibition celebrating 200 years since the birth of the museum’s founder, Sir Richard Wallace. The exhibition explores the man, his life and his unprecedented contribution to the nation’s cultural heritage. A major international philanthropist and cultural luminary of his time, yet also an enigmatic and private individual, Sir Richard believed in sharing his inheritance with a wider audience. He was also a prominent collector, adding extensively to the Collection prior to his death in 1890. Featuring twenty works of art collected by Sir Richard, the exhibition explores his eclectic tastes and highlights some of the unexpected treasures of the museum, including a gold trophy head from the Asante Kingdom.