HIDDEN MASTERPIECES – Sir John Soane’s Museum
09/03/2022 10:00 am – 05/06/2022 5:00 pm | Sir John Soane's Museum, 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3BP
The Hidden Masterpieces exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see some of the finest works amongst the drawings collected by Sir John Soane. These are usually kept in locked drawers and among carefully stored volumes at Sir John Soane’s Museum, but this spring, a selection of highlights will be on display for all to enjoy.
Available to book with free entry, spend hours soaking up the treasures that are to be found at the Soane. From a book belonging to the Queen of Naples to unbuilt designs for Hampton Court Palace and Kew Gardens, explore the vast collection on display at the museum until 5 June.
The online exhibition offers an alternative to the Hidden Masterpieces physical exhibition. Both the online and physical exhibitions provide opportunities to explore some of the highlights from among Sir John Soane’s 30,000-strong drawings collection – which range from the medieval period to the nineteenth century and represent subjects from across the world.
Book your timed tickets to visit the exhibition here, or explore the digital exhibition here for more information about some of the exhibits!
Architectural Drawings, Hidden Masterpieces from Sir John Soane’s Museum provides the perfect companion to this extraordinary exhibition. Written by Frances Sands, Curator of Drawings and Books at Sir John Soane’s Museum, this book casts light on the magnificent architectural drawings of neo-classical architect, teacher and collector, Sir John Soane that are otherwise concealed in archives. Featuring artworks handpicked from what was probably the first comprehensive collection of architectural drawings in the world, numbering 30,000 at the time of his death in 1837, Architectural Drawings celebrates a life spent procuring curiosities.
This book illustrates the story of Soane as a collector of architectural drawings, but a story which is not normally available to the public, providing a sumptuous opportunity to peruse some of the finest architectural drawings in existence prior to, or following, your visit to the exhibition. It includes drawings and plans by Montano, Thorpe, Wren, Talman, Hawksmoor, Vanbrugh, Gibbs, Kent, Chambers, Adam, Clerisseau, Pechaux, Wyatt, Playfair, Nash and, of course, Soane himself.
Architectural Drawings will be for sale in the Sir John Soane’s Museum shop.
For more information on what you might expect to see at the exhibition, please click here for just a hint at what awaits you at the Soane.
Main image: Detail of Adam office (Giuseppe Manocchi), Harewood House, Yorkshire, unexecuted ceiling for the circular dressing room, 1767, Sir John Soane’s Museum, London.
The Museum is open Wednesday – Sunday, 10am – 5pm. Please note if you are booking tickets for 4:15pm admission that the Museum closes at 5:00pm.
