A Woman of Letters: Lady Eastlake’s Legacy at the National Gallery

Enlightening online lecture from the National Gallery looking at the life of Lady Eastlake, wife of the first director of the gallery, who worked closely with him.

This was the annual Anna Jameson Lecture which came from the Society of Antiquaries and was given by Julie Sheldon from Liverpool John Moores University and the co-author of a book on the Eastlakes. She outlined Lady Eastlake’s career covering her publishing as well as how closely she worked with her husband in buying art for the gallery in its early years. As Sheldon concluded she was a significant figure in the history of the gallery even if it was soft power.

Sheldon made excellent use of archive material showing us sections from Lady Eastlake’s letters and number of her beautiful sketches particularly of Old Masters they saw and bought on their travels.

She outlined Lady Eastlake’s publishing including her work to finish Anna Jameson’s “The History of Our Land as Exemplified in Art” after whom this annual lecture series is named.

 

 

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