Animating the Georgian London town house

Organised by the Paul Mellon Centre, London, the National Gallery, and Birkbeck College, University of London, this conference explores the position town houses once occupied in the lives of families and the nation as a whole. Some – such as Spencer House – have survived; many have left fragmentary traces; others have been completely destroyed and can only be recreated on the basis of inventories and descriptive accounts.

There is much still to be uncovered about the collections of paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts which these buildings once housed, as well as about their furnishing, architecture, gardens, and refashionings over time.

This event follows on from the successful Animating the 18th-century country house conference held at the National Gallery in March 2015. Expert speakers will discuss both famed and little-remembered London town houses, considering how these residences were designed, furnished, and ornamented. Papers also explore the significance and function of these properties for owners and their families, together with the varied experiences of guests and visitors.

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

10-10.20am Registration

10.20-10.30am Welcome: Susanna Avery-Quash and Kate Retford

10.30-11.30am Keynote lecture: Desmond Shawe Taylor, 'Picture displays at Carlton House', chaired by Kate Retford

11.30am-12pm Coffee break

12-1.30pm Construction and reconstruction

12-12.20pm: Matthew Jenkins and Charlotte Newman, 'London in pieces:
Building biographies in Georgian Mayfair'

12.20-12.40pm Neil Bingham, 'The Regency transformation of Burlington House, Piccadilly, documented through the architectural drawings of Samuel Ware'

12.40-1pm Pat Hardy, 'Canaletto's town houses'

1-1.30pm Q&A

1.30-2.30pm Lunch (not provided)

2.30-4pm Fashioning and inhabiting

2.30-2.50pm Jeremy Howard, 'New light on Norfolk House: The decoration and furnishing of Norfolk House for the 9th Duke and Duchess of Norfolk'

3.10-3.30pm Peter Nelson Lindfield, 'London's gothic pineapple: 18 Arlington Street'

3.30-4pm Q&A

4-4.30pm Refreshment break

4.30-5.30pm Keynote lecture, Adriano Aymonino and Manolo Guerci, 'London's greatest mansion in the Strand: Northumberland House, the urban palace of the 1St Duke and Duchess of Northumberland', chaired by Susanna Avery-Quash

5.30pm Closing remarks

Conference page with e-ticketing link:

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/calendar/animating-the-georgian-l
ondon-town-house

Tickets: £55 full/£48 senior/£45 NG members/£28 students