In the 18th and 19th century British collectors were obsessed with Spanish art, particularly the paintings of Murillo and Velázquez. This lecture considers the development of that taste and the downfall of Murillo's popularity initiated by Ruskin. We will also explore many of the great collections in Britain, from the Duke of Wellington’s at Apsley house, to Pollok House in Glasgow and Kingston Lacy in Dorset.

Isabelle is an academic and educator specialising in the baroque, with a particular focus on Spain and its empire. She received a BA and MPhil in History of Art from Trinity College, Cambridge, where she is currently completing her PhD on the art of Diego Velázquez and Francisco de Zurbarán. From 2017 to 2019 she worked as a curator at the Wallace Collection and in 2020 her book Collecting Bartolomé Esteban Murillo in Britain and Ireland was published by CEEH. Alongside her academia, Isabelle is an expert guide for a travel company, leading groups around Spain and beyond, and she also teaches regularly for the V&A, Art Fund, Royal Academy, Chelsea Arts Club, Wallace Collection and University of Cambridge.