Collection Summary
Collection Title
Primary collection of original portraits
112 canvases; 137 drawings and watercolours; 104 works of sculpture. Four purchases supported by grants from the National Art Collections Fund, and on view in the RCM Museum of Instruments: anonymous portrait of Gaetano Pugnani (1754); Bartolommeo Nazari's portrait of Farinelli (Carlo Broschi) 1734; Felix Moscheles's portrait of George Henschel (1880); Henri Pierre Danloux's portrait of J.L. Dussek (1795)
Format
- Paintings
- Drawings
- Sculpture
Star Item(s)
Thomas Hardy portraits of Haydn & Salomon; George Dance drawings of Haydn & Salomon; John Cawse portrait of Weber; Gerald Kelly portrait of Vaughan Williams.
Date range of collection
-
Associated People or Organisations
- Vaughan Williams, Ralph -
- Haydn, Joseph -
- Taylor, Samuel Coleridge -
- Goossens, Léon -
- Garden, Mary -
- Harrison, May -
- Organ Club -
- Jacobs, Arthur -
- Weber, Carl Maria von -
- Hardy, Thomas -
- Ibbs and Tillett -
- Harrison, Beatrice -
- Salomon, Johann Peter -
- Dance, George -
- Nazari, Bartolomeo -
- Farinelli, Carlo -
- Cawse, John -
- Kelly, Gerald -
- Henri Pierre Danloux -
- Felix Moscheles -
- Henschel, George (Isidor Georg) -
- Gaetano Pugnani -
Associated Places
Associated Times
Viewing the collection
Some important items are on display in public areas of the College (notably the Museum of Instruments); access to other items is strictly by appointment.
Details also available
Unpublished handlist and card index
This collection is about
Location Details
Royal College Of Music, Centre for Performance History
Royal College of Music
Prince Consort Road
London SW7 2BS United Kingdom Open Map
Website
Email
portraits@rcm.ac.uk
Telephone
020 7591 4340
Fax
020 7589 7740
Visiting Information
Mon-Fri by appointment
Research access by appointment only. Documents are read in the Donaldson Room of the RCM Library, during normal Library opening hours.
Researchers will complete be provided with Collection Regulations, and will be asked to complete a Researcher Registration Form (copies are available on the CPH website)
Collections Overview
The Centre for Performance History was created in 2004 through the amalgamation of the Department of Portraits and the Museum of Instruments (see the separate entry for the Museum). The College has acquired portraits throughout its history since 1883 and the Centre posseses the most comprehensive collection of portraits of musicians in the UK, amounting to some 346 original portraits and 10,000 prints and photographs. In addition to the iconographical collections and their documentation, the Centre houses other categories of source material - most notably the largest collection of concert programmes in this country, comprising some 600,000 items dating from 1736 to the present day.
For details of other collections held at the same location: See the location record
Additional Collection Information
Accrual Status
Active accrual policy, most additions by gift, though some purchases. Periodicity: irregular.
Related Publications
Management Information (Type)
Collection Owner(s)
Collection Creator(s)
Collection Custodians(s)
Associated Collection(s)