The Walpole collection was a collection of paintings and other works of art at Houghton Hall in Norfolk and at other residences of Sir

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (; 26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prim ...

. Many of the important works were sold in 1779 to

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

of Russia, and the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

still owns more than 120 works from the collection.

Origin

The collection was put together by Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's first prime minister, and housed at Houghton Hall and his other residences. It included paintings by

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...

, Nicholas Poussin,

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

, and

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

, as well as a number of portraits of family members. Many of the portraits and some of the other paintings came from the collection of the Wharton family which Walpole reputedly bought for £1500. These included royal portraits and family portraits by

Peter Lely Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 30 November 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. He became a naturalised British subject and was kn ...

and van Dyck (such as the double portrait of Philadelphia and Elisabeth Wharton). Walpole bought the complete collection, most of which went to Houghton, but a few of which were sold. Walpole's sons were active in obtaining works for his collection. He also received gifts from friends and from those seeking support or honours. Walpole's collection of marble Roman busts was also noteworthy and the collection included a pair of silver wine coolers by William Lukin that are now in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, New York.

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...

, son of Sir Robert, published a catalogue of the collection in 1736.

The collection after Walpole's death

Following the death of

Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford, Knight of the Bath, KB (1701 – 31 March 1751), was a British Peerage, peer and politician, styled Lord Walpole from 1723 to 1745. Origins He was the eldest son of Sir Robert Walpole (1676–1745), the Ki ...

, in 1751, "a lesser part of the collection" was sold at auction by

George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford (2 April 1730 – 5 December 1791), was a British administrator, politician, and peer. Life Lord Orford was the only child of the 2nd Earl of Orford and his wife Margaret Rolle, who was Baroness Clinton in ...

. In 1777,

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...

tried (but failed) to persuade

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

to buy the collection for the nation. Many of the Old Master paintings subsequently went to the

having been sold by the 3rd Earl to

in 1779 for £40,550 (). In total 206 works travelled from Houghton to the Hermitage. Many of these remain in the Hermitage, but some subsequently passed to other Russian museums. Some items from the collection were sold in 1853, including a portrait of Joseph Carreras by Sir

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723) was a German-born British painter. The leading Portrait painting, portraitist in England during the late Stuart period, Stuart and early Georgian eras ...

which returned to Houghton Hall. Further sales took place in the 1930s. During the 2nd World War, the collection was stored for protection in Sverdlovsk. The collection returned to the Hermitage in 1946 and it still owns 127 works from the collection. Some works remained at Houghton after the sale to Catherine including

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (; 14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists o ...

's oil painting of his own family -- ''Thomas Gainsborough, with His Wife and Elder Daughter, Mary'' (circa 1751–1752). From September 2002 to February 2003 34 pictures from the collection were displayed at the Hermitage Rooms of

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

, on loan from the

. From 17 May 2013, until 24 November 2013, 70 pictures from the Hermitage and other museums that were part of the collection were loaned to Houghton Hall to be exhibited in their original settings.BBC News
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Some pictures from the collection

File:Cholmondeley Oudry White Duck.jpg,

Jean-Baptiste Oudry Jean-Baptiste Oudry (; 17 March 1686 – 30 April 1755) was a French Rococo painter, engraver, and tapestry designer. He is particularly well known for his naturalistic pictures of animals and his hunt pieces depicting game. His son, Jacques-Cha ...

's ''The White Duck,'' which was stolen from Houghton Hall in 1990 File:Pope Clement IX.jpg,

Pope Clement IX Pope Clement IX (; ; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Giulio Rospigliosi was born into the noble Ro ...

Carlo Maratta Carlo Maratta or Maratti (18 May 162515 December 1713) was an Italian Baroque painter and Drawing, draughtsman, active principallly in Rome where he was the leading painter in the second half of the 17th century. He was a fresco and canvas painte ...

, now in the Hermitage File:Anthony van Dyck - Portrait of Philadelphia and Elisabeth Wharton - WGA07426.jpg,

Van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of Frans van Dyck, a wealt ...

's double portrait of Philadelphia and Elisabeth Wharton. These were described by Oliver Millar as "two of the most touching portraits" ever produced by van Dyck. Hals young man.jpg, Portrait of a young man by

Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, ; ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He lived and worked in Haarlem, a city in which the local authority of the day frowned on religious painting in places of worship but citizens liked to decorate thei ...

- part of the collection now in the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

, Washington

Origin

The collection after Walpole's death

Some pictures from the collection

References

Further reading