Lord Fitzwilliam and his bequest to Cambridge

by Sarah Burles

Dear Members and Guests,

We invite you to join us for the first lecture of the season given by Sarah Burles on ‘Lord Fitzwilliam and his bequest to Cambridge​’ in the Warenar on Tuesday 14th May 2023 at 20.00 hours.  

The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge was founded on the death of Richard, 7th Viscount Fitzwilliam in 1816, five years after the Dulwich Picture Gallery and eight years before the National Gallery in London.  His bequest included paintings, drawings, prints, medieval manuscripts, and books and, in addition, a sum of money to build 'a good substantial museum repository for the increase of learning'.  Who was Lord Fitzwilliam?  What is his connection to The Netherlands?  How did he acquire his extensive collection and what prompted him to leave it to the University of Cambridge?  These, and many other questions, will be answered in a lecture that will also discuss some of the key works in Lord Fitzwilliam’s bequest.

This will be a live lecture with the lecturer physically present in the Warenar theatre.  We are hoping that members and guests will take the opportunity to come to the Warenar.  

For those unable to be present at the Warenar, this lecture will also be streamed via a Zoom webinar to those who registered.

You are requested to sign up for the lecture beforehand, also if you are coming to join us in person at the Warenar, by clicking on the sentence at the 'How to book' section.