Person    | Male  Born 21/6/1818  Died 20/7/1890

Sir Richard Wallace

Categories: Art

Countries: France

An extremely rich art collector and Francophile. Sir Richard Wallace, 1st Baronet of Sudbourne Hall in Suffolk; of Hertford House in London; of Antrim Castle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland; of 2 Rue Laffitte, Paris; and of the Château de Bagatelle, Paris.

Wikipedia makes a valiant stab at explaining Wallace's possible origins, a story in which everyone seems to be illegitimate at a time when it really mattered. He was raised by the mother of the 4th Marquess of Hertford (1800–1870) (who we will call Hertford) who was probably his father, or possibly his half-brother. Unusually the identity of Wallace's mother is also in doubt, but at one stage Wallace understood that his mother was a Wallace, hence the name he used in his baptism, aged 24.

Born in London. Aged 7 his mother left him in Paris with Hertford's mother (Hertford living close by) with whom he happily lived until 1842.  He learnt about collecting art from Hertford who was a collector and appointed Wallace as his secretary and agent.

When the immensely wealthy Hertford died in 1870 he left what he could to Wallace, and it must have been a lot, or collecting art is a more profitable occupation than we had previously thought. Wallace then lived mainly in England but returned to France in 1884, where he died.

Wallace's widow bequeathed the entire collection to the nation and it opened to the public in 1900.

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This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Sir Richard Wallace

Creations i

Wallace drinking fountain

The plaque explains why this fountain look so familiar to anyone who has walk...

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Other Subjects

Phil May

Phil May

Illustrator. Born Philip William May at 66 Wallace Street, New Wortley, Leeds. He worked at several jobs before moving to Australia as cartoonist on the 'Sydney Bulletin'. In 1888 he went to study ...

Person, Art, Australia, France, Italy

1 memorial
Geoffrey Fuller Webb

Geoffrey Fuller Webb

Known professionally as Geoffrey Webb he was a stained-glass artist and designer of church furnishings, based for most of his career in East Grinstead. Nephew of the architect Sir Aston Webb and a ...

Person, Art, Craft / Design, Liveries & Guilds

7 memorials
Bruce Bairnsfather

Bruce Bairnsfather

Cartoonist. WW1 artist. Born Muree, India. He was serving on the western front at the time of the Christmas Truce of 1914 and drew and wrote about it. An article in the Malvern Gazette 21/9/11, pro...

Person, Art, Literature, France, India

1 memorial
Society of British Artists

Society of British Artists

The following text was copied from the picture source website: The Royal Society of British Artists was established in 1823 by a small group of artists who wished to form an alternative to the Roy...

Group, Art

2 memorials
Edward Armitage

Edward Armitage

Painter.  Born Tavistock Square and died Tunbridge Wells.  The picture is a self-portrait. On the Albert Hall frieze Armitage contributed two of the sixteen sections: 'Princes, Art Patrons and Art...

Person, Art

1 memorial

Previously viewed

T. J. Jordan and Sons

T. J. Jordan and Sons

Made the 1920 WW1 memorial at Willesden bus garage.

Group, Craft / Design

1 memorial
The Children's Fold

The Children's Fold

A Barnardo's home, also referred to as Sheppard's House. It was established around 1887 at 182 Grove Road, E3. Its address is sometimes given as 180 Grove Road, so may have expanded into the neighb...

Group, Children, Philanthropy, Social Welfare

1 memorial
Danuta Beata Pawlak

Danuta Beata Pawlak

Non-British, killed by the Bali bomb.

Person, Tragedy

1 memorial
Lyons first teashop

Lyons first teashop

See Joseph Lyons and J. Lyons & Co. The photo is probably c.1930/40s.

Place, Commerce, Food & Drink

1 memorial
Old Bailey WW2 bomb

Old Bailey WW2 bomb

A bomb landed on the Old Bailey on 10/11 May 1941 destroying the north-west corner. The mural shows the damaged building, which is also recorded in this photograph held by the Science Museum Group ...

Event, Property

2 memorials