The Houghton Revisited exhibition, which closed on Sunday 24 November, attracted a record 114,000 visitors.
The exhibition reassembled in its original setting at Houghton, for the first time in over 200 years, the magnificent art collection created by Britain’s first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole (1721-1742), which was later sold to Catherine the Great of Russia for the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.
The show featured over 70 paintings, drawings and silver from the collections of the Hermitage, Pushkin Museum, Moscow and other Russian museums; the V&A and the British Museum, London; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the National Gallery of Art, Washington; as well as loans from private collections
Houghton Hall is now the family seat of Sir Robert Walpole’s direct descendent, the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley. It was designed by the most gifted architects of the day, Colen Campbell and James Gibbs, to house Walpole’s collection. Houghton is one of the best-preserved historic houses in the world and the magnificent interiors and furnishings designed by William Kent are still intact.
Lord Cholmondeley said: “We are delighted by the extraordinary success of the exhibition which has attracted a record number of visitors. I want to
thank everyone who has made the exhibition possible, with particular thanks to the curator of the exhibition, Thierry Morel, the many museums who loaned works, particularly the Hermitage, and our sponsors.
The exhibition’s lead sponsor is BP. Other major sponsors of the Houghton Revisited exhibition include Christie’s and the Oracle Capital Group.
