Spectacle and Splendour: Art and the Court of George IV

Join Scott Coleman for a lecture on Art and the Court of George IV, accompanied by an afternoon tea.

A cultured Prince named 'the first gentleman of Europe' by his friend the Duke of Wellington, The Prince Regent (later King George IV) was also dissolute, gluttonous and profligate, making him deeply unpopular with the public. Whatever the flaws in his character, however, George IV's eclectic taste in fine objects, lavish interiors and ambitious architectural schemes came to define the Regency period, leaving a legacy of beauty through the exquisite collections he amassed.

In Spectacle and Splendour, antiquarian and collector Scott Coleman explores the life of opulence of the most influential patron of fine and decorative arts of his day. Several pieces from Scott’s private collection will be on display, including a replica of the ostentatious hat and Diamond Diadem which George IV wore on the way to his coronation.