About
In this morning Salon talk, Lord Radnor is joined by Susanna Avery-Quash (Senior Research Curator in the History of Collecting at the National Gallery) to discuss the history of collecting and displaying art at Longford Castle.
Over the course of the 18th century, an outstanding collection of contemporary portraits and paintings was established at Longford Castle.
The beautiful Tudor castle in Wiltshire is home to paintings by some of Europe's most celebrated artists. This includes rarely seen works by Claude, Hans Holbein the Younger and Hendrick Avercamp. It has long been admired by visiting artists, such as Thomas Gainsborough, who came to stay in 1773 to study works by David Teniers. It still welcomes visitors today.
A few of the paintings from Longford Castle have left their country house setting. Three were sold to the National Gallery in 1890, including Hans Holbein the Younger's 'The Ambassadors', and the portrait of 'Don Adrián Pulido Pareja', originally attributed to Spanish artist Diego Velázquez, but now considered possibly by Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo.
Your host
Dr Susanna Avery-Quash is the Gallery's Senior Research Curator in charge of pre-1900 objects in our Contextual Collection, and responsible for activities associated with our research strands, ‘Buying, Collecting and Display’ and ‘Art and Religion’, and our Women and the Arts Forum.
Her research focuses on the study of important private and public art collections, notably the history of the National Gallery, as well as trends in artistic taste and the historical art market. She co-curated the exhibition ‘Creating a National Collection: The Partnership between Southampton City Art Gallery and the National Gallery’ (2021) and curated the Gallery's Bicentenary focus exhibition, 'Hockney and Piero: A Longer Look' (2024).
She looks after the Gallery's relationship with Longford Castle and co-supervised Dr Amelia Smith's doctorate on the formation of the art collection at Longford.
A morning with Lord Radnor and Susanna Avery-Quash
Tickets
Members & Patrons: £20
This event is located within Supporters' House, available to House Members & Patrons.