POWER, POLITICS, PATRONAGE and the Decoration of the British Country House with Louise Voll Box

The sumptuous interior decoration and garden design of eighteenth-century British country houses defined the tastes of their owners and reflected emerging commercial practices. But design decisions also expressed other messages. Textiles, wall treatments, and furniture could also manifest political affiliations, imperial connections, ancestry, and identity. Drawing on examples from across England and Scotland, this lecture illustrates how country house decorative schemes can be interpreted in the contexts of power, patronage, and politics.

DR LOUISE VOLL BOX is an art historian, curator, and educator at the University of Melbourne. Her research centres on eighteenth-century visual culture, prints, and the history of collecting. She has presented on these topics at international conferences and has been awarded prestigious research scholarships to study archives and collections in the UK, USA, and Europe. In 2018, she was the Harold Wright and Sarah and William Holmes Scholar at the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum. Her previous lecture at TJC was titled, ‘Perceiving Print Rooms: Commerce, Play and Display’.

This lecture is presented on-site at The Johnston Collection. Please see your ticket for details.

This lecture is supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust

Image supplied: The Tapestry Room, Osterley Park, Isleworth, Middlesex (National Trust UK).