Richard Wallace (patron)

Sir Richard Wallace

Sir Richard Wallace, 1st Baronet (born June 21, 1818 in London , † July 20, 1890 in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris ) was a British art collector and patron.

Life

Richard Wallace was the illegitimate son of Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford , and Agnes Jackson. After his father's death in 1870, he inherited his immense fortune, including an important art collection, the so-called Wallace Collection . Like his father, Richard Wallace spent a significant part of his life in Paris and devoted himself to expanding the art collection to include important pieces of French art of the 18th century.

He left a lasting impression on the Parisian cityscape in 1872 by installing around 50 drinking water fountains, the so-called Wallace fountains , for the benefit of the poor. He then left Paris and settled in his family's city palace, Hertford House , in London. There he also housed his, then legendary, art collection.

As early as November 24, 1871, he was given the hereditary title of baronet , of Hertford House in the County of London. He had previously married his long-time lover and mother of his son, Julie Castelnau. From 1873 to 1885 he held a seat in the British House of Commons for the Lisburn constituency .

In 1887 he returned to Paris, where he died in 1890 and was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery. Since he did not leave any children born in wedlock, his title of nobility expired upon his death. In 1897 his widow, Lady Julie Wallace, bequeathed the art collection and Hertford House to the British State.

literature

• Roland Montebianco: Sir Richard Wallace . Charpentier, Paris 2007, ISBN 978-2-84167-488-6 .
• Walter Armstrong: Wallace, Richard . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 59, Smith, Elder & Co., London 1899, pp. 102 f.

Web links

Commons : Sir Richard Wallace  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• The Wallace Collection London , official website (English)