The Independent - London, June 25th, 2000
It used to be said, chiefly by art world cognoscenti, that the Wallace Collection was the best kept secret in London. Discreetly located just north of the roaring buses on Oxford Street, its home at Hertford House presents a somewhat austere, guarded exterior behind the screen of trees of Manchester Square.
The interior is anything but discreet, of course: yard after yard of curling gilt bronze, virtuoso marquetry and gleaming porcelain. And then there are the paintings - the famous ones you know you've seen somewhere but couldn't place: Frans Hals's Laughing Cavalier, Jean-Honore Fragonard's...
HighBeam Research, Free Preview: 'Visual arts: It's a place of genius, as Disraeli said The revamped Wallace Collection is a triumph, says Mark Irving'... Full Membership required for unlimited access. Free 7-day trial.
Subscribers: HighBeam content is only available to HighBeam subscribers. Click the link above for more information.
