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English Heritage: CSSC exclusive event at Kenwood House with Curator Louise Cooling.

Join us for a CSSC exclusive event at Kenwood House with Louise Cooling.

Kenwood is a neo-classical Georgian villa on the edge of Hampstead Heath in London. It was once home to William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, and remained in the Murray family for more than a hundred years. Today, Kenwood houses the Iveagh Bequest, an internationally important collection of paintings given to the nation by Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh. Alongside Lord Iveagh’s paintings, Kenwood is home to a world-class collection which includes furniture, sculpture, portrait miniatures, books and more.

Your session will begin at 11am with Louise and last an hour. Guests are welcome to then explore the house or enjoy a visit to the Brew House Cafe.

Meet the Expert: My name is Louise Cooling and I’m Curator of Collections and Interiors at Kenwood House. This means that I help to look after more than 8,000 objects in the collection at Kenwood. Kenwood is home to an outstanding collection of fine and decorative arts, we also look after more unusual objects, including the world’s largest collection of 18th-century shoe buckles. One of my favourites is a little portrait miniature by John Smart. It’s so incredibly detailed and lifelike despite being so small, and I love the sitter’s pale pink powdered hair. I began working with collections after studying History of Art at university. It’s very special to work with a collection in a historic space like Kenwood, where the architecture, furniture and art all work together in context to tell a story. - Louise Cooling, Curator of Collections and Interiors at Kenwood House

Please note:

-Available to CSSC members only

- This event will take place on the ground floor to accommodate different levels of mobility