Bill Aldridge has been a volunteer at Kenwood House for 10 years. As well as being a ‘Room Explainer’, a role that is self explanatory, Bill also does Spotlight Talks on particular aspects of the house. Bill’s business career with IBM and subsequently running his own ‘organisation learning’ consultancy drew him into the world of arts. Firstly in the 1990’s helping arts organisations build strategies and business plans and subsequently using the power of art to get businesses to see themselves through a different lens.
This growing interest in art led Bill to develop this talk about how, in the 1890’s, the art market took off on a trajectory that led to huge amounts being paid at auction. Not all of this can be attributed to Lord Iveagh; he was but one of the actors in the late Victorian era buying art. This is the story of how one man put together an amazing art collection of 217 paintings in only 5 years and in the process saved many great paintings for the nation.
How and why they ended up in Kenwood House will be revealed at the talk.
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