The office of Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Works of Art in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of works of art owned by the Sovereign in an official capacity, about 700,000 objects - many of museum quality. The collection is spread across the various official and historic residences. Those objects in the official residences are in constant use. Objects in the Royal Collection are distinct from those objects 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 estat ...

and Balmoral Castle and elsewhere. The Surveyor oversaw conservation of works of art: there are three conservation workshops, including a recently constructed workshop in the Home Park, Windsor. The office dates from 1928, and has only been full-time since 1972. 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 ...

, Surveyor of the King's Pictures, had been responsible for works of art from 1901 to 1927. The last Surveyor, Rufus Bird, was appointed upon the retirement of Jonathan Marsden, CVO, who was in turn appointed upon the retirement of

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Hugh Roberts on 20 April 2010. Jonathan Marsden was the last Surveyor who was also concurrently Director of the Royal Collection for which he chaired a management committee of the Surveyors and Librarian and other administrators. The post of Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art is currently in abeyance. The Department is currently managed by the Deputy Surveyor of the King's Works of Arts.

List of Surveyors of the King's/Queen's Works of Art

*Caroline de Guitaut (Deputy Surveyor) 2020– *Rufus Bird 2017–2020 *Sir Jonathan Marsden 2010–2017 *Sir Hugh Roberts 1996–2010 *Sir

Geoffrey de Bellaigue Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue (12 March 1931 – 4 January 2013) was Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art from 1972 to 1996. His was the first full-time appointment to the office, and he did much to professionalise the Royal Collection department af ...

1972–1996 *Sir Francis J.B. Watson 1963–1972 *Sir James Mann 1946–1962 *

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

Lord Gerald Wellesley 1936–1943 *Sir

Cecil Harcourt-Smith Sir Cecil Harcourt-Smith (1859–1944) was a British archaeologist and museum director. He was Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the British Museum from 1904 to 1909, and Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum from 1909 to 1924. Ear ...

1928–1936''London Gazette,'' p. 10197.
22 October 1920. *Sir

1901–1927 (also

Pictures An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

)

References

External links

* {{job-stub