WILLIAM BECKFORD, PATRON OF SILVERSMITHS
Lecturer: Timothy Schroder
William Beckford (1760-1844) was one of the greatest art collectors England has known. He built the vast gothic mansion of Fonthill Abbey. One of his favourite fields of collecting was silver, especially new objects of great refinement that were made to his own designs.
Both the Abbey and the silver are extraordinary windows into his personality – but the silver survives; the abbey does not.
Timothy is a historian of gold and silver. After study at Oxford, he has been Curator at the V&A 2000-10; Prime Warden, Goldsmiths’ Company, 2015-16 and 2019-20 and Trustee, Wallace Collection 2013-23. Publications include: ‘A Marvel to Behold, Gold and Silver at the Court of Henry VIII’ (2020).
kindly sponsored by:
