The Wallace Collection Ticket Portal

‘Damned expensive taste though’: The Afterlife of George IV’s Collections and Building Projects, from William IV to Elizabeth II'

King George IV died on 16 June 1830 in his new bedroom at Windsor Castle. Increasingly dropsical and reclusive towards the end of his life, he had only just moved into his new apartments in the Castle with his rapacious mistress, Lady Conyngham, and a small group of devoted attendants. George bequeathed a vast array of furniture and works of art to his successors, assembled during a lifetime of omnivorous collecting, as well as unfinished building projects in Windsor and London.

Join Tim Knox, Director of the Royal Collection, as he traces the afterlife of George IV’s myriad collections and building projects, and reveals how his sometimes-reluctant heirs coped with his prodigious legacy.

About the Speaker: Tim Knox was appointed Director of the Royal Collection by Queen Elizabeth II in 2018. Prior to that he was Director and Marlay Curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum, where he made a number of important acquisitions and planned the Museum's masterplan. He was Director of Sir John Soane’s Museum in London between 2005 and 2013, where he restored Sir John Soane’s glittering architectural treasury to its appearance in 1837, just as its founder wished, and converted the neighbouring houses to provide facilities for the museum. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and Co-Patron of the Mausolea and Monuments Trust, which he helped found.

Dame Rosalind Savill Memorial Lecture

Dame Rosalind Savill was Director of the Wallace Collection from 1992 to 2011. With great energy and tenacity, she brought vital change to the museum, transforming it from an undervisited institution into a cultural landmark.

In memory of Dame Rosalind's profound contribution to the study of French decorative arts – and in the spirit of her passion for sharing her knowledge with the public – the annual Dame Rosalind Savill Memorial Lecture enables a leading scholar to share new insights into the world of 18th-century French arts and culture and the history of collecting.

This lecture is made possible thanks to Adrian Sassoon, a donation in memory of Cynthia Postan and the support of an anonymous donor.

Join us to explore how heritage and the arts can support people living with dementia. Sessions will showcase projects from museums and charitable partners across the UK, highlighting how cultural institutions are fostering connection, creativity and wellbeing through co-creation, digital innovation and inclusive practice. Together, our speakers will demonstrate the growing role of heritage in shaping dementia-friendly environments and expanding access to culture.

From the museum sector, Historic Royal Palaces will revisit their 2017 Rethinking Heritage dementia-friendly toolkit; Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales will share insights from their Museums Inspiring Memories partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society; and National Museums Liverpool will highlight the international reach of their House of Memories programme, and its pioneering digital resources.

Alongside these, community and charity perspectives will bring further context: Resonate Arts, working with the V&A and local memory services, will present their museum-based Cognitive Stimulation Therapy initiative; freelance dementia advocate Seiwa Cunningham will emphasise the importance of co-creating programmes with people living with dementia; and Caribbean Social Forum will introduce the Caribbean Dementia Memory Project, developed with the National Maritime Museum.

Read the full conference programme here. 

This conference is kindly sponsored by the Belvedere Trust.

Take part at the museum: The conference will take place in the Theatre, Lower Ground Floor. Morning and afternoon refreshments are included; participants should make their own arrangements for lunch.

Watch Online: This event will also be broadcast live from the museum on Zoom. All ticketholders will also receive a link to view a recording of the event, which will be available for two weeks only.

Join Dr Elizabeth Currie to gain fresh perspectives on some of Caravaggio’s best known paintings, and the life experiences of those depicted.

Caravaggio gained a reputation for drawing inspiration from Rome’s rowdy and often violent street life, but how accurate were his representations of the people around him? Discover how Caravaggio blended reality and imagination to portray members of the urban poor, from soldiers and sex workers to fortune tellers and beggars.

Following the talk, Dr Currie will sign copies of her new book, Street Style: Art and Dress in the Time of Caravaggio, (Reaktion Books), 2025.

About the speaker: Dr Elizabeth Currie is an author and lecturer specialising in Italian art and fashion history. She teaches at Central Saint Martins and is a Visiting Research Fellow at the V&A Museum. Her publications include Fashion and Masculinity in Renaissance Florence (2016).

Take part at the museum: Join us at the museum for this special talk, followed by drinks, book signing and after-hours access to our new exhibition, Caravaggio’s Cupid, until 20.45.

Watch online: This talk will also be broadcast live from the museum. Online ticketholders will be emailed a link to join 24 hours in advance. Ticketholders will also receive a link to view a recording of the talk, which will be available for two weeks.

Discover maiolica – vividly painted tin-glazed ceramics – produced in 16th-century Italy, and the intriguing insights they provide into the lives of their makers and consumers. Variously painted with playful grotesque ornament alongside mythological, religious, allegorical and contemporary subjects, you’ll learn how maiolica served a variety of functions, from dazzling tableware to puzzle cups, pharmacy jars and vases.

About the speaker: Suzanne Higgott was Curator of Glass, Limoges Painted Enamels, Earthenware and Early Furniture at the Wallace Collection until her retirement in 2024. Her publications include ‘Sir Richard Wallace’s maiolica. Sources and display’, Journal of the History of Collections (2003), and ‘The Most fortunate Man of His Day’.  Sir Richard Wallace: Connoisseur, Collector & Philanthropist (2018).

Take part at the museum: This course will take place in the Theatre, Lower Ground Floor. Participants taking part at the museum are encouraged to visit the galleries in their own time afterwards.

Watch online: This course will also be broadcast live from the museum. Online ticketholders will be emailed a link to join 24 hours in advance. Ticketholders will also receive a link to view a recording of the talk, which will be available for two weeks.

Join curator Alexander Collins and senior conservator Jürgen Huber to investigate the gilding that adorns many of our 18th-century French chandeliers, clocks, chairs and candlesticks. You’ll learn about gilding techniques from the period as well as its social and artistic significance. Alongside seeing the effects of the technique close-up, you’ll have the opportunity to try out gilding for yourself.

About the speakers: Alexander Collins is Curator of Decorative Arts at the Wallace Collection. Previously, he was Assistant Curator for Portraits of Dogs: From Gainsborough to Hockney and Leverhulme Fellow for the prestigious Riesener Project, in which he researched the furniture of Jean-Henri Riesener and contributed to the Project’s monograph and digital resources. Alexander was also Decorative Arts Curatorial Intern at the Royal Collection.

Jürgen Huber is Senior Furniture Conservator at the Wallace Collection, where he is responsible for preventive and interventive conservation of furniture. After completing an apprenticeship in cabinetmaking in 1987, he gained a ‘Meister im Tischlerhandwerk’ in 1992 and a postgraduate diploma in conservation studies in 1998. He has published and lectured extensively on heritage, as well as the environment and sustainability.

Take part at the museum: This demonstration and tour will start in the Meeting Room, Lower Ground Floor, and move on to galleries throughout the museum.

Take an experimental, intuitive approach to drawing the human figure. Through sustained observation of artworks in our galleries and short drawing exercises, you’ll tune in to the subtleties of gesture, expression, shape and line. In the afternoon, we'll then spend three immersive hours drawing from a life model in our studio. By the end of the day, you’ll have created a collection of drawings using a variety of art materials and techniques.

Suitable as an introduction to life drawing for beginners, or for people with some experience. For ages 18+. 

Read the full course description here.

Joining Information and Format: This workshop will take place in the Learning Studio, Lower Ground Floor at the museum. 

Equipment and Materials: Please wear clothes suitable for a messy workshop. All materials and equipment are provided.

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Join us for a creative day exploring art and design, with artist Joanna Veevers. Begin by developing your ideas through line drawing before moving into clay. Joanna will guide you through specialist ceramic techniques, helping you to create one or two flat, decorative works. Inspiration will come from Grayson Perry’s exuberant artworks in our current exhibition, Delusions of Grandeur, alongside selected objects from our collection that capture the imagination.

At the end of the day, your work will be dried, and taken away to be fired. You’ll then be able to return to the museum to collect your finished pieces at a future date. For ages 18+.

Read the full course description here.  

Joining Information and Format: This workshop will take place in the Learning Studio, Lower Ground Floor at the museum.

Equipment and Materials: Please wear clothes suitable for a messy workshop. All materials and equipment are provided.

With live captions by Stagetext.

Learn about our new temporary display, Swords of Lucknow as Nicole Ioffredi reveals insights into the ambitions and exploits of the North Indian court during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

As well as discovering the exceptional craftsmanship of the five swords selected for the display, we’ll uncover the role of arms and armour in forging a dynastic identity and expressing political hierarchies.

About the speaker: Nicole Ioffredi first joined the Wallace Collection as the Cronk Exhibitions Research Assistant, where she supported the delivery of the exhibition Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King and undertook research into the South Asian Arms and Armour collections. She is the newly appointed Archivist to the Wallace Collection Archive.

Take part at the museum: No ticket required, drop in on the day. Join us in the Theatre for this special talk.

Watch online: This talk will also be broadcast live from the museum. Book a free ticket online to receive a Zoom link. Ticketholders will also receive a link to view a recording of the talk, which will be available for two weeks only.   

In an exclusive after-hours event for teachers, experience our Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur exhibition.

Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur presents over 40 new works by Sir Grayson Perry (1960). In the largest contemporary exhibition ever held at the museum, visitors will encounter ceramics, tapestries, metalwork and works on paper amongst others, displayed alongside masterpieces from the collection that helped shape Perry’s vision for this landmark show.

Enjoy a glass of wine and light refreshments, then join educator Marc Woodhead and the Wallace Collection Learning team for a brief introduction to the exhibition before exploring the show yourself.

Drop in to the museum from 16.45-16.55 and explore the exhibition from 17.30-18.30. Please note, the museum closes at 17.00 and last entry will be permitted until 17.15 for this event.

Free, but booking is essential. Please book using your school email address. Contact schools@wallacecollection.org if you have any questions.

For ages 18+.

As we open the doors to our free exhibition, Caravaggio’s Cupid, join curators Dr Helen Langdon and Dr Xavier Bray as they reveal the ideas and insights behind their new show.

Focussed on Caravaggio’s astounding, life-size painting Victorious Cupid – never seen in public in the UK until now – the exhibition also presents two Roman sculptures from the same collection to which the painting originally belonged. In this special after-hours event, Dr Langdon and Dr Bray will discuss Caravaggio’s work and its original setting, as well as the vibrant world of 17th-century Rome.

About the speakers: An acclaimed writer, lecturer and curator, Dr Helen Langdon is an art historian with a special interest in the Roman Baroque. She has written extensively on Claude Lorrain and Salvator Rosa, and in 1999 published Caravaggio: A Life. She was formerly Assistant Director of the British School at Rome.

Dr Xavier Bray is Director of the Wallace Collection. 

Take part at the museum: Join us at the museum for this special talk, followed by drinks and exhibition visit until 20.45.

Watch online: This talk will also be broadcast live from the museum. Online ticketholders will be emailed a link to join 24 hours in advance. Ticketholders will also receive a link to view a recording of the talk, which will be available for two weeks.

Join Dr Matthew Morgan to explore the intriguing intersection of 18th-century portraiture and theatre, inspired by Gainsborough’s captivating portrait of actress, poet and courtesan, Mary Robinson.

Portraiture shaped public image and boosted fame in a society that admired yet distrusted the stage. We’ll learn how Gainsborough’s painting is a striking example of how visual art became a powerful tool for self-fashioning – a vital asset during a time when women in the spotlight faced intense scrutiny and moral judgment.

About the speaker: Dr Matthew Morgan is an art historian, educator and museum professional. He has been the Museum Director of Turner's House, and an Associate Lecturer at Birkbeck, University of London. He has worked in the heritage sector for 10 years, including for the Royal Collection, the National Gallery, the Wallace Collection and the V&A Museum. Prior to that, he was a Director in Christie’s Valuation Department. He has contributed to TV documentaries, podcasts, radio shows, has lectured widely across the country, and has made a series of short films which can be seen on YouTube.  

Take part at the museum: This course will take place in the Theatre, Lower Ground Floor. Participants taking part at the museum are encouraged to visit the galleries in their own time afterwards.

Watch online: This talk will also be broadcast live from the museum. Online ticketholders will be emailed a link to join 24 hours in advance. Ticketholders will also receive a link to view a recording of the talk, which will be available for two weeks.

Discover Marie-Antoinette, one of history’s most captivating figures. Through a vivid visual journey of her interiors at Versailles, the Petit Trianon, and the Château de Fontainebleau, we’ll explore Marie-Antoinette’s daily life as Dauphine, and later as Queen of France, with a focus on her artistic patronage. Our investigation of the team of artists working for her will include portrait painter, Elisabeth-Louise Vigée le Brun and furniture maker, Jean-Henri Riesener, both of whom feature in the Wallace Collection. Described by 19th-century writers Jules and Edmond de Goncourt as the ‘Queen of fashion and pleasure, we’ll also explore Marie-Antoinette’s visual legacy and enduring appeal.

Read the full course description here. 

Joining Information and Format: This course will be taught through Zoom Webinar. Each course session duration is 120 minutes, including a five-minute break and Q&A session with the tutor.  

Tickets are for all dates of this course. Ticketholders will be emailed the Zoom link, Webinar ID and Passcode 24 hours in advance of the first course session, which should be retained for accessing all sessions.   

Course Recording: This course will be recorded. Within 48 hours of each course session, ticket holders will be emailed a link to view the recording, which will be available for two weeks.  

How is art from the past, here at the Wallace Collection and beyond, inextricably linked to the creation of modern and contemporary art? Discover the connections and continuing relevance of historical works, here at the Wallace Collection and beyond, on art that was made centuries later.

By comparing Frans Hals’s 17th-century work with that of 19th- and 20th-century vanguard artists such as Sargent, Whistler and de Kooning, we’ll see how his exuberant and dazzling brushwork sparked inventive pictorial responses in these later artists. We’ll also examine the classically-informed paintings of 17th-century artist Poussin, and how they relate to the audacious works produced by modern and contemporary artists including Cézanne, Matisse and Hockney.

Read the full course description here. 

Joining Information and Format: This course will be taught through Zoom Webinar. Each course session duration is 120 minutes, including a five-minute break and Q&A session with the tutor.  

Tickets are for all dates of this course. Ticketholders will be emailed the Zoom link, Webinar ID and Passcode 24 hours in advance of the first course session, which should be retained for accessing all sessions.   

Course Recording: This course will be recorded. Within 48 hours of each course session, ticket holders will be emailed a link to view the recording, which will be available for two weeks.  

Journey through the vibrant artistic and cultural heritage of Antwerp, Leiden and Delft – three northern European cities that played a pivotal role in shaping European art from the medieval era to the 17th century.

We’ll learn how these cities were at the heart of artistic innovation, producing key paintings that now reside in the Wallace Collection and beyond. Delving into magnificent altarpieces created for churches, striking portraits by Rubens, Van Dyck, and Rembrandt, and the captivating scenes of everyday life depicted by de Hooch, Steen, and Vermeer, you’ll learn how each city’s unique character, patrons and artists helped creative innovation flourish over several centuries.

Read the full course description here. 

Joining Information and Format: This course will be taught through Zoom Webinar. Each course session duration is 120 minutes, including a five-minute break and Q&A session with the tutor.  

Tickets are for all dates of this course. Ticketholders will be emailed the Zoom link, Webinar ID and Passcode 24 hours in advance of the first course session, which should be retained for accessing all sessions.   

Course Recording: This course will be recorded. Within 48 hours of each course session, ticket holders will be emailed a link to view the recording, which will be available for two weeks.