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Thursday 17 November 2022
Lord Fitzwilliam and His Bequest to Cambridge
By Sarah Burles

The Fitzwilliam Museum was founded in Cambridge in 1816 on the death of Richard, 7th Viscount Fitzwilliam. His bequest included paintings, drawings, prints, medieval manuscripts and books. He also left a substantial amount of money to build a museum to increase learning. Whilst exploring some of the works in the collection Sarah shows how this extensive collection was acquired, why it was left to Cambridge University and the connection with Napoleon.
About the Speaker

Sarah Burles studied History of Art at Cambridge University and then gained a Master’s Degree at University College London. Her career has been in museum and gallery education and she established new services in three different museums before working at the Fitzwilliam Museum.
She is a founder of Cambridge Art Tours which runs tours and courses in and around East Anglia. She has also led tours to Europe and America.