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This event is now sold out at the museum. 

With a focus on astounding and sometimes threatening subjects, the sublime – seen in paintings such as Vernet’s A Storm and a Shipwreck – invites the viewer to experience dramatic and awe-inspiring effects. By contrast, the flamboyant, playful and sometimes sensual images of the Rococo appear more light-hearted, exemplified by the Collection’s most famous painting, Fragonard’s The Swing.  

Join Dr Matthew Morgan to learn how, despite the prevalence of the Rococo style, the dramatic ideas of the sublime were in fact widespread in 18th-century France. Looking at a selection of works through a contextual talk and gallery tour, we’ll learn how to navigate the unexpected common ground between these seemingly opposed and captivating styles. 

Joining Information and Format: This course will take place in the Theatre, Lower Ground Floor, and in galleries throughout the museum. 

Beauty, strength, intellect, economic and moral status. How might clothing, armour and accessories express these qualities and more?  

Join dress historian Jacqui Ansell to explore the ways in which power can be conveyed through artworks. We’ll delight in the details of armour and ceramics, as well as miniatures and large-scale paintings, and consider how identities are constructed. A careful selection of portraits and precious objects from the 1400s to the 1800s will also act as an intriguing introduction to the wealth and scope of the Wallace Collection. 

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 course, which will be available for two weeks only. 

Sold out at the museum. Book now to join us online. 

Through the many exquisite art objects presented in our exhibition Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King, visitors can see how the arts developed and thrived during the time of the Sikh Empire. Join Davinder Toor, guest curator of the exhibition, alongside international artists Jatinder Singh Durhailay, Keerat Kaur and Nep Sidhu, as they discuss current influences and legacies in Sikh art.

About the speakers: Guest curator Davinder Toor is a leading figure among a new generation of Sikh, Indian and Islamic art collectors. He has acted as a consultant to major private collectors, auction houses and institutions such as the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and the Wallace Co. He currently lectures on the 'Arts of the Royal Sikh Courts' and 'Sikh Painting and Manuscripts' for the Victoria and Albert Museum’s prestigious 'Arts of Asia' course. Both he and objects from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art were featured on the BBC’s Lost Treasures of the Sikh Kingdom (2014) and The Stolen Maharajah: Britain's Indian Royal (2018) documentaries. The Toor Collection, comprising in excess of 1500 works, acts as a lasting legacy to the empire of the Sikhs.

Jatinder Singh Durhailay is an Oxfordshire-based painter and musician. His artistic practice spans painting and drawing, with a special interest in the usage of naturally derived pigments as well as Indian classical music. Blending myth and contemporary culture, his portrayal of the Sikh community and culture are humorous, heroic and poignant. He paints intricate and observant portraits and scenes in the style of Indian Mughal miniature painting. Jatinder’s work has been shown internationally and features in renowned private and public collections. He is trained in Indian classical music, performing and practising Kirtan and as part of the musical duo, Petit Oiseau, he has played in prestigious museums and galleries.

Keerat Kaur is a Canadian artist and architect (lic. OAA) with Sikh-Panjabi roots. Her work takes shape through the disciplines of painting, sculpture, writing, music, and architecture. Drawing inspiration from Sikh philosophies, she employs the art of metaphor and symbolism to revolutionise our relationship to nature and spirituality. Regardless of the chosen medium, Kaur’s work is firmly rooted in the written word, serving as a pivotal starting point. This characteristic lends her work a profoundly narrative and illustrative quality, as imagery and language seamlessly coalesce, enriching each other’s impact.

Nep Sidhu’s work involves material investigations of textile, sculpture, painting, video, and sound. Through his explorations, Nep seeks pathways to realise the formlessness of the divine through endless possibility, search and sangat (congregation). He is a member of the Black Constellation collective, designs adornment and clothing under the Paradise Sportif's moniker, and helps run Sher-E-Punjab Sports Academy in Chakar, Punjab, with the local community. Nep is based in Toronto, Canada.

Take part at the museum: Join us at the museum for this special discussion panel, followed by refreshments and an opportunity to visit the exhibition Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King.

Watch online: This discussion panel 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 event, which will be available for two weeks only

Through objects presented in our new exhibition Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King, alongside other material aspects of his court, explore the exceptional life and legacy of the great Sikh leader Ranjit Singh (1780-1839). 

In the 18th century, the once powerful Timurid (Mughal) Empire retreated from the wealthy region of the Punjab, now divided between India and Pakistan. Unstable and continually plundered by invasions from Afghanistan, peace and prosperity was eventually restored to the region through local resistance and the enigmatic leadership of Ranjit Singh.  

Over three sessions, we’ll examine Ranjit Singh’s rise to power and the multifaceted reasons for the stability and duration of his almost four-decade reign – regarded as a highpoint in an otherwise violently unstable century. 

Led by Dr Sâqib Bâburî, Content Specialist Archivist with the Qatar Foundation Partnership (British Library) and formerly Curator for Urdu Collections and Curator for Persian Manuscripts (British Library). 

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 both 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.  

Powder your wig and paint those heels red, our annual LGBTQ+ Late returns and this year we're rocking Rococo.

Artist Sadie Lee takes the helm on our special 10th anniversary year to curate an LGBTQ+ celebration with a pinch of Rococo. Join us for Queer-themed performances, music and art at the most stylish museum in town.

Take part at the museum: Join us at the museum for this special event between 18.30-21.30 BST, with bar and music continuing until 23.00. Includes access to the exhibition Ranjit Singh: Sikh Warrior, King until 20.30.

This event is now sold out at the museum.

Our new exhibition Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King presents a variety of exquisite miniature paintings from the Sikh Empire. Join us to discover the methods, materials and techniques surrounding the Pahari miniature painting tradition, over a creative weekend in our studio. Delving into natural pigments, handmade papers and age-old brush techniques that give Pahari miniature paintings their distinctive appearance, you’ll develop knowledge and skills in this painting tradition as well as in finishing techniques, such as shell gold gilding. Over the course of the weekend you’ll create a colourful, gilded miniature painting to take home.

Led by artist Simran Panesar. 

Read the full course description here.  

Joining Information and Format: This masterclass will take place in the Learning Studio, Lower Ground Floor at the museum. It includes access to the Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King exhibition during the event. 

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

Image: Tawarikh-i Jahander Shah, an incomplete account of the reigns of Bahadur Shah and his successor Jahandar Shah, Punjab, Late 18th century © From the British Library Archive (detail)

The Tudor age produced some of the earliest English ‘likenesses’, from life-size images of monarchs to intimate portrait miniatures. Delve into the artistic, religious and political world of 16th-century England through a number of striking works from the Wallace Collection and beyond. You’ll uncover the meanings contributed by techniques, formats and symbols to reveal the ways that portraits were made and used by people across Tudor society – from the intimacy of the artist’s studio, to the professional setting of the livery company, and on the public stage of the royal court.

Led by Dr Christina Faraday, Research Fellow in History of Art at Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, and a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinker.   

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 both sessions.   

Why is Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) celebrated as one of the most innovative artists of the 17th century? Trace his outstanding artistic development, from precisely observed still lifes to the impressionistic inventiveness of his later, audacious works.

We’ll consider how Velázquez’s prodigious talent led King Philip IV of Spain to appoint him as court painter when he was only in his early twenties – and we’ll see, despite being based in Seville and Madrid, how he was nevertheless influenced by international painters including Rubens, Reni and Caravaggio. 

Led by art historian Dr Chantal Brotherton-Ratcliffe.   

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 both 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.  

This event is now sold out at the museum.

Be spellbound by students from English National Ballet School as they perform their own choreographic works, set to music in the intimate surroundings of our galleries.

Over several months, Young Choreographers from the Ballet School have been exploring the collection and developing choreography informed by what they have encountered. Our evening showcase presents their breathtaking new work, performed amongst the masterpieces that have inspired them. 

Take part at the museum: Join us at the museum for this special evening, which includes performances in different galleries throughout the building. Includes short, unseated performances and movement between different levels. Main performance (approx. 25 minutes) will be seated.

Includes a drinks reception on arrival. The museum will reopen at 18.15 for ticketholders. 

Image: © Asya Verzhbinsky (edited)

Learn how artists in different cultures have represented space and apply these diverse approaches to your own drawing practice. On Saturday, we’ll explore the development of linear perspective in Europe through the Royal Institute of British Architect’s (RIBA) historical collections and by making creative responses to their iconic headquarters. On Sunday at the Wallace Collection, we’ll take inspiration from the miniature watercolour paintings displayed in our new exhibition, Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King, exploring the multiple perspectives, vivid colours and bold patterning used by northern Indian artists to create a sense of space. Over two days you’ll experiment with a range of media including pen, pencil, watercolour and collage to create a varied portfolio of artwork. 

Led by artist Wilson Yau. 

A collaboration between the Wallace Collection and the RIBA.  

Read the full course description here.   

Joining Information and Format: This masterclass will take place at the RIBA, 66 Portland Place on Saturday, and at the Wallace Collection on Sunday.  

On Saturday participants should meet in the RIBA’s Clore Learning Centre; on Sunday, participants should meet in the Wallace Collection’s Learning Studio, Lower Ground Floor. The masterclass includes access to the exhibition Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King. 

Equipment and Materials: All materials and equipment are provided. 

Image: Bishan Singh (c.1820-c.1900), The Court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (r. 1799-1839), Amritsar or Lahore, Punjab, 1864 © Toor Collection (detail) 

Discover the history of Western European painting through one of the most outstanding art collections in the world. Taking a chronological approach, we’ll introduce you to key artists and styles from the 15th to the mid-19th centuries. Our exploration will include early devotional images, intriguing depictions of everyday life, opulent Rococo representations of mythology, as well as outstanding portraits and renditions of magnificent landscapes. While looking carefully at works by major artists including Cima, Rembrandt, Velázquez, Fragonard, Gainsborough and Bonheur, we’ll discuss function, technique and interpretations. 

Each morning, you’ll learn with our experts through in-depth talks in our theatre, exploring our remarkable paintings in context. We’ll then begin each afternoon with a spotlight talk, where we’ll discuss a single work through a theoretical perspective including feminism, identity politics and the construction of power. We’ll complete each day with lively gallery tours, drawing together the ideas introduced in the theatre and allowing for observation and discussion of paintings close up. 

Over five days, you’ll gain a broad knowledge of a range of artworks, enabling you to recognise and understand some of the major stylistic and material developments in painting, both within the Wallace Collection and further afield.

Read the full programme here.

Take part at the museum: The summer school will be taught in the Wallace Collection Theatre and in galleries throughout the museum. Please meet each day in the Theatre, on the Lower Ground Floor.

Tickets are for all five dates. Morning tea and coffee will be provided; participants should make their own arrangements for lunch.

Hone your artistic skills and learn the processes involved in representing the reclining figure in 3D, from first sketch to sculptural experimentation. Taking inspiration from artworks in the Collection and through working with life models in our studio, we’ll guide you through a range of approaches and materials for drawing, and for sculpting in wax, clay and wire.

By the end of the course, you’ll have created a diverse portfolio of drawings of the body, worked on a quarter-life-size figurative sculpture, and have had opportunities for 1-1 and group discussion on artistic processes and materials. 

Read the full course description here. 

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

Joining Information and Format: This masterclass will take place in the Learning Studio, Lower Ground Floor and in galleries throughout the museum.

We recommend participants bring a packed lunch. When walking through the museum, food and drink must be packed away in a bag and must only be consumed when in the Learning Studio.