Surveyor of the King's Pictures
{{Short description|Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom}}
{{distinguish|Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
The office of the Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Pictures, in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of pictures owned by the Sovereign in an official capacity – as distinct from those owned privately and displayed at Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle and elsewhere. The office has only been full-time since 1972. It now operates in a professional capacity with a staff of a dozen people.
Although the office dates from 1625, during the reign of Charles I (a noted art connoisseur), there has always been someone responsible for pictures in the Royal Household. Notable recent office-holders have included Sir Lionel Cust (1901–1927), Sir Kenneth Clark (1934–1944), Professor Anthony Blunt (1945–1972), one of the infamous Cambridge Five Soviet spies, and Sir Oliver Millar (1972–1988). The current surveyor is Anna Reynolds, MVO, who was appointed in December 2023. She is the first woman to hold the position.
The previous surveyor was Desmond Shawe-Taylor, who held the post from 2005 to 2020.{{Cite news
|url=http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=141
|title=Press Release: Appointment of new Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures, The Royal Collection
|publisher=Royal Collection
|date=2004-12-17
|access-date=2008-05-22
}}
The post of Surveyor of the King's Pictures was in abeyance until 3 December 2023.{{cite news |title=Queen's art experts leave as Covid hits royal finances |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-55424182 |access-date=23 December 2020 |publisher=BBC News}}
List of Surveyors of the King's/Queen's Pictures
- Abraham van der Doort 1625–1640
- George Geldorp 1660–
- Thomas Chiffinch 1660–1666
- William Chiffinch 1666–1688
- Gerrit van Uylenburgh 1676–1679
- Parry Walton 1679–1690 (officially to 1701)
- Henry Norris 1682–
- Frederick Sonnius 1690–1701
- Peter Walton c.1690–1745 (officially from 1701)
- Stephen Slaughter 1745–1765
- George Knapton 1765–1778
- Richard Dalton 1778–1791
- Benjamin West {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|RA}} 1791–1820
- William Seguier 1820–1843
- Sir Augustus Wall Callcott {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|RA}} 1843–1844
- Thomas Uwins {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|RA}} 1844–1856
- Richard Redgrave {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|RA}} 1856–1880
- Sir John Charles Robinson {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|CB|FSA}} 1880–1901
- Sir Lionel Cust {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|FSA}} 1901–1927{{London Gazette |issue=27291 |date=5 March 1901 |page=1576 }}
- C. H. Collins Baker {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|CVO}} 1928–1934
- Sir Kenneth Clark {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|KCB|FBA}} 1934–1944
- Anthony Blunt {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|PhD|MA|FSA|FBA}} 1945–1973 – formerly Sir Anthony Blunt {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|KCVO}}, until he was stripped of his titles after being exposed as a former Soviet spy.
- Sir Oliver Millar {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|GCVO|FSA|FBA}} 1972–1988
- Christopher Lloyd, {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|CVO|MA|BLitt}} 1988–2005
- Desmond Shawe-Taylor {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|CVO|MA}} 2005–2020
- Anna Reynolds {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|MVO}} 2023–
References
Further reading
- {{Cite book |last=Millar |first=Oliver |title=The Queen's Pictures |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year=1977 |location=London |isbn=978-0-297-77267-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/queenspictures0000mill }}