Wallace Collection of the wealthiest families in Europe. They owned large properties in England, Wales and Ireland, and increased their wealth through successful marriages. Politically of lesser importance, the 3rd and 4th Marquess and Sir Richard Wallace became leading art collectors of their time. The Wallace Collection, comprising about 5,500 works of art, was bequeathed to the British nation by Lady Wallace in 1897. The state then decided to buy Hertford House to display the collection and it was opened as a museum in 1900. As a museum the Wallace Collection's main strength is perhaps its extraordinary array of 18th-century French art:
Ingram Collection of Modern British Art flair and an unerring eye for quality". The collection comprises 650 artworks of which over 400 are by the most important artists of the Modern British era, among these Dame Elisabeth Frink, Dame Barbara Hepworth and Sir Eduardo Paolozzi. The collection is currently housed at The Lightbox - the Art Fund Prize-winning gallery and museum in Ingram's hometown of Woking. The Lightbox is a public gallery which opened in 2007. The Ingram Collection has been on loan to the gallery from its opening and has created a unique local opportunity to see world-class Modern British art. Since its inaugural exhibition,