Caroline Knight

We are delighted to welcome Caroline Knight to our Day of Special Interest. She is an architectural historian and trained at the Courtauld, specialising in 16th to 18th century English and Scottish architecture. She is a lecturer at the V&A on year courses and short courses, and a lecturer for the Art Fund, and for the Royal Oak Foundation in the US. She researched and wrote a history of Kensington Palace. She contributed to a book on the Cecil family, and has written several articles on architectural and social history and the history of travel. She wrote London's Country Houses (2009) and contributed a chapter to a history of the Royal Academy (Yale, forthcoming).

Young gentlemen in the 18th century completed their education by travel in Europe, especially Italy. This lecture looks at how and where they went, what they saw, and what they brought back with them. This included antique sculpture and Old Master paintings, as well as views of Venice, Rome and Naples; many gentlemen commissioned portraits. Many Grand Tour purchases are still in the country houses of their descendants; others are in museums. 

When we know for certain whether we will be able to hold this lecture in person we will publish further details of the day and how to book.