Opening of the British Art Rooms after restoration

On 8 December, 2001, the British Art Rooms of the Winter Palace were opened after restoration. The new exposition shows some 200 objects including paintings, silverware, ceramics, medals, gems, watches and other monuments of applied art which amply represent English art of the 16th to the 19th centuries.

English portrait art is represented by paintings coming from the famous collection of Lord Walpole: Portrait of Edward VI by an unknown painter of the 16th century, Portrait of Abraham van der Dort by W. Dobson (late 1630s), Portrait of John Locke by H. Neller (1697). Portrait of a Lady in Blue by Thomas Gainsborough (late 1770s) is one of the best works of this outstanding English portrait painter.

The Smithy by J. Wright of Derby (1773) bought by Catherine II from the author laid the foundation of the future collection of English painting. Of special interest in the collection are historical canvases by Joshua Reynolds, one of the most authoritative and influential painters of the 18th century, the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts: Infant Hercules Strangling Snakes (1788), Continence of Scipio Africanus (1789) and Amour Unbinding Venus' Girdle (1788).

The 19th century is represented by works of the renowned English portrait painter T. Lawrence among whose clients were almost all royalties and military and diplomatic celebrities of his time. The exhibition includes portraits of S.R. Vorontsov and M.S. Vorontsov. Of great historical interest is the Portrait of Admiral A.S. Shishkov by J. Dow who painted portraits of Russian generals for the 1812 War Gallery of the Winter Palace.

The panorama of English art includes works from porcelain and faience. The museum's special pride is the Green Fog Service created in 1774 by the outstanding master of ceramics J. Wedgwood.

One of the world's best collections of English silverware is displayed in a special room, in new specially designed showcases. Many exhibits are showed for the first time. Special place in the history of English silverware belongs to Charles Kendler's unique creation, wine refrigerator whose monumental form and sophisticated decoration are amazing.

The Hermitage English collection is fairly small compared to the museum's other sections but it is nevertheless one of the amplest and best collections of English art on the Continent. Russia was one of the first countries to start collecting works of English masters, while Catherine II was the first European sovereign to order things from England.

Mikhail B. Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum, and Yelizaveta P. Renne, Senior Researcher and Custodian of English Paintings

At the exhibition

Portrait of a Lady in Blue
Thomas Gainsborough
Larger view

Objects from "Green Fog Service"
Wedgwood
Larger view