In Trust for the Nation

The National Trust looks after some of the finest collections of paintings in Britain, but because they are in houses all over the country, few appreciate their extraordinary wealth and variety. In Trust for the Nation brings together a fascinating selection of these treasures: grand full-length portraits by Van Dyck, Reynolds, Gainsborough and Romney; domestic images, such as Mrs Garnett, the Kedleston housekeeper, and Thomas Rogers, the Erddig carpenter; outstanding. Old Masters by Titian, Velazquez and Rembrandt; jewel-like cabinet pictures by 17th-century Dutch and Flemish artists such as Steen, Metsu, Ter Borch, Breughel and Teniers; intimate narrative pictures and conversation-pieces by Hogarth, Mercier, Zoffany and Devis; ideal landscapes by Claude and Hobbema, cityscapes by Cuyp and Bellotto, and English views by Turner and Benjamin Williams Leader; and rarities like Wyck's amusing A Dutch Mastiff with Dunham Massey in the. Background, which reflects the British love of animals and country house views. This book also serves as a permanent record of the exhibition held at the National Gallery in London to celebrate the National Trust's Centenary in 1995. All the exhibits are