Art History

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The Royal Art Collection

The Royal Art Collection is one of the largest in the world and is spread out over thirteen royal residences. The current British monarch owns the collection, but it is run by Royal Collection Trust. It contains over a million pieces, including paintings, ceramics, furniture, clothing, jewelry and more. Some of the collection is open to the public, while other parts are kept in private areas that are accessible only to the royal family.

The Crown Jewels, for example, are displayed in the Tower of London for the public. Many pieces are also on loan to museums all over the world at any given time. The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace was built specifically so that the public could enjoy a part of the collection. The exhibits there are rotating, so that the public can view different pieces over time.

A full inventory of the collection is not available to the public, though catalogues of certain exhibits have been released over time. Pieces among the paintings are pieces by Da Vinci, Titian, Caravaggio and many more. It is considered one of the greatest collection of works from the Western world. During her reign Queen Elizabeth made many great contributions to it and now the majority of it will pass on to her son Charles, as he assumes the throne. If you are not able to get a chance to see the Royal Art Collection in person, feel free to browse through our classics art gallery, which has many of the same artists featured.