Walpole's Art Collection

A volunteer working at the National Archives has made a major discovery, a cache of inventories of Sir Robert Walpole's possessions. Compiled for a family legal dispute which followed the death of Sir Robert in 1745 they list the paintings owned by the first resident of 10 Downing Street, many bought by Catherine the Great and are now in the collection of the Hermitage Museum. They include works by Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens and Leonardo and previously unrecorded landscapes by Brueghel and Tintoretto. The documents on an auction held after Walpole's death provide a fascinating insight into sale practices in the 18th century. Among the costs charged by auctioneer Christopher Cock was just over £4 for dinners at the Shakespeare's Head. For the full story - click the title Irish Art