The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum

The Baron de Ferrières’s collection at The Wilson reflects artists that were held in high esteem by continental mid-19th-century collectors – and even King George IV himself. It comprises highly finished paintings from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. The 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century were the Baron’s particular preferences. Due to this, the collection is especially rich in 17^th century Dutch genre paintings, such as those by Gerrit Dou, Gabriel Metsu and Jan Steen, and in 19th century Dutch and Belgium art, including works by Cornelius Springer, Andreas Schelfhout and Baron Leys. During the 1840s, the second Baron, was living in Brussels, which explains the great number of Belgian paintings in his collection.

Two years after the second Baron’s death, in 1866, his son Charles exhibited many of his pictures in the monumental ‘National Exhibition’ in Leeds. The third Baron also sold some of the paintings and gave others to various art galleries including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. When he died, Reverend Thomas Sheepshanks had inherited 24 paintings, which were on long-term loan to Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum until his own death in 1929. Since then the gallery has acquired other artworks from the original collection, notably from the Baron’s great niece, Miss EE Roberts, in 1965.