Wallace Collection

Considered one of the most prestigious art collections in London, the Wallace Collection is housed in a late-18th-century townhouse

Wallace Collection

Considered one of the most prestigious art collections in London, the Wallace Collection is housed in a late-18th-century townhouse

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The Wallace Collection is a fine and decorative arts museum occupying the London townhouse building known as Hertford House. The museum is famous for housing a vast array of paintings, sculptures, furniture, weaponry, metalworks and porcelain that made up Sir Richard Wallace’s personal collection.

The museum consists of around 5,500 works of art, all bequeathed to the nation by Lady Wallace in 1897. Most of the collection had been established by the Marquess of Hertford. Sir Richard Wallace, his illegitimate son, after whom the museum is named, added to it with his own collections.

Inside, you can find one of the largest collections of 18th-century French art outside of France, as well as 16th, 17th, and 19th-century paintings by well-known artists such as Titian, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, and Velázquez. The most important and famous painting in the Wallace Collection is possibly The Swing (or The Happy Accidents of the Swing) by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. This 18th-century piece is considered a masterpiece of the Rococo era, and the artist’s personal best.

Wallace Collection gallery — The Great Gallery, pictured here, houses several 17th-century paintings and 18th-century furniture.

Although the majority of works that make up the Wallace Collection are European, on the ground floor of Hertford House, you’ll also find a room known as the Oriental Armoury. The room consists of a collection of art and cultural objects from India, Eastern Asia, and Western Asia.

The Oriental Armoury certainly served to satisfy Richard Wallace’s fascination with an exoticised idea of the East, propelled by colonial conquest and very popular in Europe at the time. Interestingly, one of the peculiarities of the museum is that none of the holdings must leave the house, not even for loan exhibitions.

Location

Hertford House, Manchester Square, Marylebone, London W1U 3BN.

The Wallace Collection is housed in Hertford House, in the area of Central London known as Marylebone, between Regent’s Park (north) and Hyde Park (southwest).

Not far from the museum, you’ll find several famous sights and cultural institutions. Closest to the museum, south of Regent’s Park, are Madame Tussauds and the Sherlock Holmes Museum. Going slightly south instead, you’ll find some of the most bustling areas in the city, Oxford Street, Soho, and Chinatown. If instead, you choose to go eastward you’ll find the Cartoon Museum and the British Museum.

Tickets and price

The Wallace Collection’s permanent collections in London are free to enter for everyone. The temporary exhibitions and events usually require an entry fee.

Prices vary for these displays vary but are generally around £10.00 or £15.00, with discounts available for students, young visitors, job seekers, and visitors with disabilities. Children under 12 and carers normally enter for free. You can buy your tickets for the temporary exhibitions and events on the Wallace Collection’s website .

Visitors with a Membership can enter temporary exhibitions without prior booking and without a ticket. If you’re interested in becoming a member you can do so on the Wallace Collection’s Membership page .

Schedule

The Wallace Collection is open every day from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Day
Mon-Sun

Day	Opening time	Closure
Mon-Sun	10:00 am	5:00 pm

Transport

The closest Underground station to the Wallace Collection is Bond Street, which is a 7-minute walk south of the museum. You can get to this station with Tube lines Jubilee, Central, or even with the Elizabeth line.

If the bus works best for you, lines 2, 13, 30, 74, 133, 139, 189, and 274 will drop you off around the corner from the museum. If none of these work for you, you can also take routes 7, 94, 98, and 390 and get off on Oxford Street, just a few minutes away from the museum.

You can find a summary of the public transport options in the table below.