The office of the Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Pictures, in the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

Department of the Royal Household of the

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of pictures owned by the

in an official capacity – as distinct from those owned privately and displayed at

Sandringham House Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a estate ...

and

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought ...

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. As of the end of 2020, the position has been put in abeyance. Although the office dates from 1625, there has always been someone responsible for pictures in the Royal Household. Notable recent office-holders have included Sir

Lionel Cust Sir Lionel Henry Cust (25 January 1859 – 12 October 1929) was a British art historian, courtier and museum director. He was director of the National Portrait Gallery from 1895 to 1909 and co-edited ''The Burlington Magazine'' from 1909 to 191 ...

(1901–1927), Sir

Kenneth Clark Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director, and broadcaster. After running two important art galleries in the 1930s and 1940s, he came to wider public notice on television ...

(1934–1944), Professor

Anthony Blunt Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to November 1979, was a leading British art historian and Soviet spy. Blunt was professor of art history at the University of London, dire ...

(1945–1972), one of the infamous

Cambridge Five The Cambridge Spy Ring was a ring of spies in the United Kingdom that passed information to the Soviet Union during World War II and was active from the 1930s until at least into the early 1950s. None of the known members were ever prosecuted for ...

, and Sir

Oliver Millar Sir Oliver Nicholas Millar (26 April 1923 – 10 May 2007) was a British art historian. He was an expert on 17th-century British painting, and a leading authority on Anthony van Dyck in particular. He served in the Royal Household for 41 year ...

(1972–1988). The post of Surveyor of the King's Pictures is currently in abeyance; the most recent was Desmond Shawe-Taylor, who held the post from 2005 to 2020.

List of Surveyors of the King's/ Queen's Pictures

* Desmond Shawe-Taylor 2005–2020 *

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

, 1988–2005 *Sir

1972–1988 *

1945–1973 – formerly Sir Anthony Blunt , until he was stripped of his titles after being exposed as a former Soviet spy. *Sir

1934–1944 * C. H. Collins Baker 1928–1934 *Sir

1901–1927 *Sir

John Charles Robinson Sir John Charles Robinson (16 December 1824, Nottingham – 10 April 1913, Swanage) was an English painter and etcher, although he is now better remembered as an art collector and curator. Biography He was raised by his grandfather, who was a bo ...

1880–1901 *

Richard Redgrave Richard Redgrave (30 April 1804 in Pimlico, London – 14 December 1888 in Kensington, London) was an English landscape artist, genre painter and administrator. Early life He was born in Pimlico, London, at 2 Belgrave Terrace, the second son o ...

1856–1880 *

Thomas Uwins Thomas Uwins (24 February 1782, in London – 26 August 1857) was a British portrait, subject, genre and landscape painter (in watercolour and oil), and a book illustrator. He became a full member of the Old Watercolour Society and a Royal ...

1844–1856 *Sir

Augustus Wall Callcott Sir Augustus Wall Callcott (20 February 177925 November 1844) was an English landscape painter. Life and work Callcott was born at Kensington Gravel Pits, a village on the western edge of London, in the area now known as Notting Hill Gate. ...

1843–1844 *

William Seguier William Seguier ( ; 9 November 1772 – 5 November 1843) was a British art dealer, painter, and official functionary in the art world. He was the first Keeper of the National Gallery, London. Early life Seguier was born in the parish of ...

1820–1843 *

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

1791–1820 * Richard Dalton 1778–1791 *

George Knapton George Knapton (1698–1778) was an English portrait painter and the first portraitist for the Society of Dilettanti in the 1740s. He became Surveyor and Keeper of the King's Pictures from 1765 to 1778. Life and work Knapton was born in Chri ...

1765–1778 * Stephen Slaughter 1745–1765 * Peter Walton c.1690–1745 (officially from 1701) * Frederick Sonnius 1690–1701 * Henry Norris 1682– *

Parry Walton PARRY was an early example of a chatbot, implemented in 1972 by psychiatrist Kenneth Colby. History PARRY was written in 1972 by psychiatrist Kenneth Colby, then at Stanford University. While ELIZA was a tongue-in-cheek simulation of a Carl Rog ...

1679–1690 (officially to 1701) *

Gerrit van Uylenburgh Gerrit van Uylenburgh (c. 1625 – 1679), or Gerrit Uylenburgh, was a Dutch Golden Age painter and art-dealer. He was the eldest son of Hendrick van Uylenburgh and took over the family art-dealing business after Hendrick's death and burial i ...

1676–1679 *

William Chiffinch William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

1666– *

Thomas Chiffinch Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

1660–1666 *

George Geldorp George Geldorp, Georg Geldorp or Jorge Geldorp (1580/1595, Cologne – 4 November 1665, London) was a Flemish painter who was mainly active in England where he was known for his portraits and history paintings. He was also active as an art deale ...

1660– *

Abraham van der Doort Abraham van der Doort (c. 1575/1580? - June 1640) was a Dutch artist. As Keeper of Charles I's art collections, he was the first Surveyor of the King's Pictures. Van der Doort's careworn face is familiar from a portrait and engravings held by t ...

1625–1640

References

External links

About the Royal Collection
– official website {{British Monarchy Household

List of Surveyors of the King's/ Queen's Pictures

References

Further reading

External links