The Gallery at Cleveland House - (Material Culture of Art and Design) by Anne Nellis Richter (Paperback)

About the Book

"This book examines the art gallery at Cleveland House, known in the 19th century as the 'Louvre of London' due to its internationally-renowned collection of Old Master paintings. Through detailed analysis of a wide range of visual, material, textual and archival sources, the book presents the gallery as a methodological case study on the intersection of domesticity and the display of art, and the construction of the notion of 'public', 'private' and 'national' galleries in the period. The book is essential reading for researchers in Regency-era British art, museum studies, collecting studies, and the histories of interior decoration and design"--

Book Synopsis

In 1806, the Marquess and Marchioness of Stafford opened a gallery at Cleveland House, London, to display their internationally-renowned collection of Old Master paintings to the public. A ticket to the gallery's Wednesday afternoon openings was a sought-after prize, granting access to the collection and the house's dazzling interior in the company of artists, celebrities, and Britain's elite. This book explores the gallery's interior through the lens of its abundant material culture, including paintings in gilded frames, furniture, silver oil lamps, flower arrangements, and the numerous printed catalogues and guidebooks that made the gallery visible to those who might never cross its threshold.

Through detailed analysis of these objects and a wide range of other visual, material, textual and archival sources, the book presents the gallery at Cleveland House as a methodological case study on how the display of art in the 19th century was shaped by notions about public and private space, domesticity, and the role art galleries played in the formation of national culture. In doing so, the book also explains how and why magnificent private galleries and the artworks and objects they contained gripped the public imagination during a critical period of political and cultural transformation during and after the Napoleonic Wars.

Combining historical, cultural and material analysis, the book will make essential reading for researchers in British art in the Regency period, museum studies, collecting studies, social history, and the histories of interior decoration and design in the 18th and 19th centuries.

About the Author

Anne Nellis Richter is an Independent Scholar and Adjunct Faculty in the Smithsonian Internship Semester program, Smith College, USA.