Displaying items by tag: sir robert walpole

On one, a weathervane, picked out by some invisible beam, shines bright as a new penny against the darkening sky.

If you are a fan of “Downton Abbey,” you won’t want to miss “Houghton Hall: Portrait of an English Country House” at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor before it closes Jan. 18.

Built in Norfolk in the 1720s for England’s first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole, Houghton Hall features grand rooms designed by architect William Kent to house Walpole’s Old Master paintings, elegant furniture (some designed by Kent to go with the rooms), elaborate tapestries and Roman antiquities. Many of these rooms are recreated at the Legion as settings for luxurious furniture, silver and china, and paintings by English artists Thomas Gainsborough and William Hogarth.

Houghton Hall, a lavish English country house built by Great Britain’s first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, announced that the American artist James Turrell will create a site-specific installation for the institution in June 2015. The Palladian estate, which is now home to David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, and his wife, Rose, boasts a sculpture park, spectacular interiors, exquisite furniture, rarely exhibited paintings by artists such as Thomas Gainsborough, Artemisia Gentileschi, and John Singer Sargent, and celebrated collections of silver, marble, and Sèvres porcelain.

In recent years, Lord Cholmondeley has commissioned a number of contemporary outdoor sculptures for Houghton Hall, including works by Turrell, Richard Long, Stephen Cox, Zhan Wang, Amy Gallaccio, and Jeppe Hein.

Christie’s London will offer a Rococo coffee-pot by Paul de Lamerie (1688-1751), the most celebrated British silversmith of the 18^th century, as part of its Exceptional Sale on July 4, 2013. The George II silver coffee-pot, which was commissioned in 1738 by a wealthy London-based merchant, is expected to become the most valuable piece of English silver ever to be sold at auction. The masterpiece was recently the highlight of a British silver exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Lamerie, who began his career in 1703 as an apprentice to the London goldsmith, Pierre Platel (1659-1739), opened his own workshop in 1713 and was soon appointed goldsmith to George I. His work evolved from simple Queen Anne styles to classical French designs, but his ornate Rococo works of the 1730s are his most admired pieces. Lamerie’s illustrious clientele included Sir Robert Walpole, King John V of Portugal, and Queen Elizabeth II, who he made a wedding gift for.

The coffee-pot heading to auction in July is expected to garner approximately $4.5 million.

A selection of oil paintings from Russia’s Hermitage Museum will be on view at Houghton Hall in England from May 17, 2013 through September 29, 2013. Great Britain’s first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole, assembled the collection during the first half of the 18^th century and built Houghton Hall to house the works. Paintings from Russian and American collections will complement the works, which are returning to England for the first time in 230 years.

Walpole built Houghton Hall, which now belongs to Lord Cholmondeley, one of his direct descendants, between 1722 and 1735. In 1779,When Walpole’s grandson was in need of money, he sold the majority of his grandfather’s collection to Catherine the Great for nearly $61,500. Approximately 75 of the sold works are returning to Houghton Hall for the exhibition including paintings by Rembrandt (1606-1669), Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665), and Diego Velázquez (1599-1660).

While a handful of the paintings have been on view in England since their sale in the 18^th century, none of them have returned to Houghton Hall. Designed by the foremost architects of Walpole’s time, James Gibbs and Colen Campbell, Houghton Hall’s lavish interior was decorated by the eminent architect and furniture designer William Kent. Walpole spared no expense and Houghton Hall remains as one of the finest examples of Palladian architecture in England.