Art Funded by you

Christopher Lennox-Boyd Collection of Mezzotints

Unknown artist, c. 1680–c. 1914

Christopher Lennox-Boyd formed what is internationally famous as the greatest private collection of British mezzotints. The British Museum has acquired 7,250 prints which increases their collection of prints of this class by nearly half. Mezzotint was the medium by which British prints swept Continental markets in the late 1760s and 1770s, becoming the most fashionable of all prints. It was one of the greatest items of British export trade, and the means by which British art and (to some extent) culture became know abroad. Within the history of British art, these prints record a large number of paintings that are otherwise unknown. There are also a selection of mezzotint ‘Drolls’ which record an area of British semi-popular culture and visual iconography that has been almost completely forgotten. The Lennox-Boyd collection is extremely strong in these, and is the only such collection in the world.

More information

Title of artwork, date

Christopher Lennox-Boyd Collection of Mezzotints, c. 1680–c. 1914

Date supported

2010

Medium and material

Mezzotint

Dimensions

Various

Grant

250000

Total cost

1250000

Content note: This object record is part of our archive and has not been updated since it was first published. It may contain inaccurate information or outdated language. Please get in touch if you think this record should be amended.

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