Although Horace Walpole’s large and impressive art collection initially remained at Strawberry Hill after his death in 1797, it was later sold off by his heir in a 24-day sale in 1842. With the sale, one of the best collections of it’s time of art, furniture, cermanics, glassware and manuscripts was scattered.
Now the Strawberry Hill Trust who look after the house are trying to find some of the objects in the collection with a view to borrowing or even purchasing some of the items. In particular, if you know the whereabouts of:
- Roman funerary urn;
- mirror with portrait of Viscount Malpas;
- ornate Turkish dagger;
- Gothic dining table;
- basalt Bust of Vespasian
For more details about each of the items, see the story at The Art Newspaper:
Full story: ‘Strawberry Hill on the hunt for lost Walpole treasures‘ [The Art Newspaper]
Exhibition of over 250 items from the original 18th century Strawberry Hill collection:
– “Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill”
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut, USA (15 October 2009 – 3 January 2010, 4-page press release) –
– “Horace Walpole and Strawberry Hill”
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK (6 March – 4 July 2010, 3-page press release) –
http://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/future_exhibs/walpole/index.html
Exhibition book – “Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill” (UK £40 rrp) –
http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300125740