Kenwood House

Set in tranquil parkland with panoramic views over London, Kenwood House boasts sumptuous interiors and important paintings by many great artists. Brewing magnate, Edward Cecil Guinness, first Earl of Iveagh, bought Kenwood House in 1925. Thanks to him, you can admire masterpieces by Rembrandt, Turner, Reynolds, Gainsborough and Vermeer. Admire the Suffolk Collection, with its magnificent full-length Elizabethan portraits and stunning costume details. Or take a turn outside, in parkland influenced by the great English landscape gardener, Humphry Repton. There are also lakeside walks and meandering woodland paths to explore and enjoy.  

NEW FOR 2008:

Lose yourself in Venice at Kenwood House this summer!

To celebrate summer, two stunning, large-scale 18th-century paintings of Venice by the Italian artist, Guardi, have arrived at Kenwood on loan.

Originally part of Edward Cecil Guinness, the 1st earl of Iveagh’s collection, this is the first time that the paintings have been displayed and reunited with the collection at Kenwood. One, A view of the Rialto Bridge from the Fondamenta del Carbon, Venice, illustrates the Rialto Bridge which spans the Grand Canal in Venice. The other, A view of the Rialto Bridge with the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi and the Fabbriche Vecchie, Venice is painted from a point north of the famous Rialto Bridge on sparkling water.

Guardi was born in Venice in the early 1700s into a family of painters. He became increasingly fashionable with English collectors at the end of the nineteenth century: Lord Iveagh bought four examples of his work.