Kenwood House is a stately home, formerly a residence, in Hampstead, London on the northern boundary of Hampstead Heath. The house was originally constructed in the 17th century and in 1754 was bought by William Murray, later the Earl of Mansfield.
In 1764 Lord Mansfield – Lord Chief Justice – commissioned Robert Adam to remodel the house. Adam was given complete freedom to design it as he chose. He added the library, one of his most famous interiors, to balance the orangery, and accommodate Lord Mansfield’s extensive book collection.
Kenwood House served as a residence for the Earls of Mansfield during the 18th and 19th centuries, until it was sold in the early 20th Century.
Lord Iveagh, of the Guinness family, bought the house and the remaining 74 acres from the Mansfield family in 1925 for the sole purpose of showing his famed art collection to the public. He left the house and the art collection to the nation upon his death in 1927.
The Iveagh Bequest Collection contains works by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Van Dyck as well as a major collection by English artists including Gainsborough, Reynolds, Romney, Turner and Constable.
We will have the unique opportunity of Chantal Brotherton-Ratcliffe guiding us around the collection. She will be putting the works and the collection in context as one of the most important private collections in England today.
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