by Cust, Lionel & Walter Longley Bourke
Brief introductory text on the Bridgewater House Collection of Pictures followed by 120 full-page plates reproducing artwork in the Bridgewater House collection, each plate accompanied by a brief contextual caption and each artist represented by a thorough biography. Oversized folio. Full leather with raised spine, edgewear, abrasions, some small splitting along spine. Westminster (Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd.) 1903. Limited edition of 115 copies. Ex-Pierpont Morgan library with bookplate on pastedown. The Bridgewater collection was formed by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, who began collecting art late in his life after his nephew, Lord Gower, explained to him that Old Master paintings could be a worthwhile investment. In response, the Duke purchased all of the French and Italian paintings from the Orléans Collection. Upon his death, his nephew, the 2nd Marquis of Stafford (and his great-nephew, Francis Egerton) inherited the collection and became a prominent collector and patron, adding to the collection established by the Duke in his lifetime. Some of the artists represented in this collection include Raphael, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Parmigiano, Annibale Carracci, Guercino, Domenichino, Ribero, Poussin, Rembrandt, Rubens, Jacob van Ruisdael, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Gainsborough, and Turner. As of December 2020, OCLC locates six holdings in North American institutions.
(Inventory #: 51128)