Friday, the exhibition about Prince Henry, THE LOST PRINCE closed.  I knew it was the last day, and I combined my visit to see the Duchess of Cambridge portrait with THE LOST PRINCE EXHIBITION.  I would have regretted it very much if I had missed this amazing exhibition.  I wrote an article for my blog a couple of weeks ago to encourage visitors to see the exhibition, but something really interesting came out of my visit.  I became acquainted with James I’st consort, Anne of Denmark.  I did not realize that the great collections of the Stuart kings had their roots in the tastes of this amazing Queen.  James I was a great scholar and raised his son Prince Henry Frederick in a “classroom” atmosphere, far away from the influence of his Catholic mother.  But when James became King of England and heir to the throne of Elizabeth I, Queen Anne flourished and started collecting and gathering.  It was the beginning of the Royal Collection–in its infancy.  Prince Henry was a great collector, and his younger brother who became Charles I was one of the most important royal collectors in the history of the royal collection.  Charles II restored his father’s collections after Cromwell and added important works to the Royal Collection.  This great enthusiasm for gathering the finest art of all kinds had its roots in the style of Anne of Denmark, Consort of James I.  This was the era of Inigo Jones (1573-1652) whose immense influence on Stuart culture had the royal patronage of the early Stuart monarchs.  I walked away from the exhibition wondering why I had not put this together in my mind.  Actually, Anne of Denmark was a very distant figure in my thinking, but this exhibition about her son Henry brought the Queen forward to a more prominent place in my thinking.

Soon, I plan to write an article about Inigo Jones, my great hero and friend since my university days.

Thomas Moore   email:  TMooreSr@me.com    Telephone:  801.791.9918

http://www.londonconnection.com