A rarely seen red chalk sketch by Michelangelo, the pearl earring worn by Charles I at his 1649 execution and a coronation miniature of Queen Elizabeth I by Nicholas Hilliard are among the treasures due to go on show in a new gallery dedicated to the Portland collection in March.
The opening of the Harley Gallery at Welbeck, Nottinghamshire, marks the first time the full collection, amassed by the Dukes of Portland over 400 years, will have been shown together. Some of the collection has never been shown in public before, while other objects have been loaned to other exhibitions or displayed in the old gallery.
The family’s collection includes works by Anthony Van Dyck and John Singer Sargent, as well as more than 400 miniatures—the largest privately-owned collection of miniatures in the UK. The first exhibition in the new 800 sq. m building will include miniature portraits chosen by the British artist Peter Blake (20 March-31 August 2016).
William Parente, the grandson of the 7th Duke and Duchess of Portland, hopes the new gallery will help boost the local economy. “Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire have not had an easy time economically since the pit closures, and everyone locally has had to work very hard to make things happen,” he says. “These [objects] are part of our collective history as people: they chart the way people, places, tastes and society have changed over the centuries—everyone should be able to enjoy them.”
