Thomas Howard and his marbles – the first great English art collector

Disappointing talk at the National Portrait Gallery on Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel.

The talk was given by Liz Rideal and she talked well about the people around Howard but actually said very little about him himself. He had come up on the course I did last year on classicism as he created one of the greatest collections of classical sculpture in England which later become the classical core of the Ashmolean Museum. I would like to have heard more about how he amassed the works and how they were displayed in his life time.

I was interested to hear more about Wenceslas Hollar the etcher whose work I keep coming across. I love the idea that his work was so detailed as he was short sighted. I understand that idea! He is buried at St Margaret's Westminster where I sing a few times a year.

She also covered Van Dyck, Inigo Jones, Rubens and the Duke of Buckingham. Maybe a bit too much for a 45 minute lecture.

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