Discover the history and elegance of Houghton Hall, one of England’s grandest country houses, built in the 1720s by Sir Robert Walpole (1676–1745), Britain’s first prime minister. Constructed in the Palladian style by architects James Gibbs and Colen Campbell and decorated by the influential designer William Kent, it has survived through the centuries in a remarkably well-preserved state. Tucked away in Norfolk, England, Houghton Hall was built as a setting for Walpole’s spectacular collection of Old Master and 18th-century paintings, tapestries, and Roman antiquities. His strong tradition of artistic patronage and collecting was continued by the Marquess of Cholmondeley.
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Web Site:
http://www.famsf.org