The stunning artworks of musical impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber are due to go on display for the first, and probably only time, this autumn. Consisting of largely Pre-Raphaelite works, the multi-million-pound collection which is usually distributed in Lord Lloyd-Webber's various homes, includes pieces by Millais, Rossetti, Burne-Jones, Holman Hunt and Tissot.
The composer stepped in and offered to lend the works to the Royal Academy after the recent war in the Middle East meant a major exhibition of Egyptian antiquities had to be cancelled.
He has built up the impressive Pre-Raphaelite holding – the largest in private hands – since he began acquiring art at the age of 15.
"It is to be understood as a serious collection and not a rich man's toy," emphasises the Academy's exhibitions secretary Norman Rosenthal.
As Lord Lloyd-Webber can't bear to be parted from them, the artworks are unlikely to ever be displayed together again. "He'll be impossible while they're away," reveals Rosenthal. "He won't be a happy man at all. He'll be pacing up and down looking at all the empty spaces on his walls. I expect he'll be in the academy most days looking at his own paintings. He regards his art as his babies."
An obsessive connoisseur – his dealer has been known to buy up entire collections – Lloyd Webber once said that he only wrote musicals in order to be able to buy paintings.
Only 80 per cent of the 300 items, including rugs, tapestries, books and artefacts, will go on display, however, as that is all the Academy has space for. The exhibition will kick off in September and run for three months, with the Academy hoping the celebrity factor ensures high attendance figures.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
