Pyne's Royal Residences

These six watercolours come from a group of more than a 100 executed for W. H. Pyne's History of the Royal Residences, 1819. They show how Dutch art was displayed at this date. Of the twenty seven paintings in the exhibition two were hanging at Kensington Palace, one at Windsor Castle and twenty four were at Carlton House, George IV's fashionable London town house.

Three of the interiors displayed here depict Carlton House and represent some of its most elegant spaces – lavishly-furnished yet domestic and informal. The two Windsor interiors belong to the King's State Apartments, created by Charles II in the most imposing style, but neglected by George III and at this date enjoyed only by the visiting public.