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 Ingram Collection of Modern British Art The Ingram Collection of Modern British Art is one of the United Kingdom’s best and most significant collections of Modern British Art. It is recognised as the biggest privately owned publicly accessible collection of Modern British in the country. The collection has been put together over the last decade by media entrepreneur Chris Ingram. Ingram has been described as “one of the most active and thoughtful collectors of Modern British Art today.” Robert Upstone (Director of The Fine Art Society and former Tate curator) considers the collection to have been "created with exemplary visual