We have reached Kenwood House, part of my talk at the Beau Monde Conference in New York on July 23, 2019, that I did not deliver. I ran out of time!
The façade of the Orangery and Kenwood House facing Hampstead Heath.
The Entrance of Kenwood House Hampstead, London. The house is open today as a gallery of pictures, among them works by Rembrandt, Van Dyke, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Romney, and Lawrence; operated by English Heritage. The art collection is primarily the bequest of Edward Cecil Guiness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, who acquired the house to exhibit the pictures in 1927.
Above, the house from the Heath. The first house built here was about 1616, a Jacobean house partially pulled down but with remaining features beneath the 18th century white stucco; several prominent families owned the property throughout the 18th century. William Murray (1705-1793), 1st Earl of Mansfield, hired Robert Adam to redo the house in 1764. Mansfield was the Lord Chief Justice of England, 1756-1765.
Below, the 1775 portrait of Lord Mansfield (by David Martin)hangs in the Library.
Below, the 1775 portrait of Lord Mansfield (by David Martin)hangs in the Library.
Perhaps the most famous room in Kenwood is the Adam Library, completely refurbished in 2012-14.
Compare this view with the previous appearance and the changes in the ceiling below. The original version was painted by Antonio Zucchi
Much of the gilding had been added well after the original design, as well as the scarlet carpeting, now gone. The way it looked in the left above is the way I first saw it many years ago. The far more subtle shades of the restoration make me much more amenable to working in the library, so if there is sufficient wi-fi access, don't be surprised if you find me there next time you visit. Don't I wish!!!
Below, three more views of the re-done library.
Below, three more views of the re-done library.
For some years, the library was about the only room furnished as the original. But in the recent restoration, other rooms were returned to their 'residential' as opposed to 'gallery' appearance. Below, the dining room, refurbished.
The portrait above the dining room fireplace is Princess Henrietta of Lorraine attended by a Page by Anthony Van Dyck, 1634. Below, two of the priceless masterpieces from the collection. Left, Portrait of the Artist by Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1663; and right, The Guitar Player by Jan Vermeer, c. 1672.
The Music Room, below, including the chamber organ, from 1796, and many excellent English portraits.
Below, a selection of the fine English portraits from Kenwood House. Below, top, left, Mrs. Musters as Hebe by Sir Joshua Reynolds; Miss Murray, by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1825-27; lower, left, Kitty Fisher as Cleopatra, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1759; right, Mrs. Jordan as Viola, by John Hoppner,
The 1st Earl of Mansfield, was noted for his reform of English law and was important in the fight against slavery. He was the author of a court opinion that slaves brought into Britain or its territories were free.
The Film Belle, 2013, tells the story, a bittersweet one, of these two young ladies, Mansfield’s niece, Elizabeth Murray, and Dido Bells, the natural daughter of Mansfield's nephew with a West Indian slave woman. They lived with the Mansfields for most of their lives. A cop of their portrait hangs at Kenwood, below.
The Film Belle, 2013, tells the story, a bittersweet one, of these two young ladies, Mansfield’s niece, Elizabeth Murray, and Dido Bells, the natural daughter of Mansfield's nephew with a West Indian slave woman. They lived with the Mansfields for most of their lives. A cop of their portrait hangs at Kenwood, below.
Above, drawing of the house, c. 1774. Below, The café garden.
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