Boodle Hatfield on art and heritage
Convincing a council to fund and develop a run-down house in East London was the challenge that faced the trustees determined to bring the former home of William Morris back to life.
Partner at Boodle Hatfield LLP and Trustee of the William Morris Art Gallery and Museum, Rudy Capildeo, described as a child how he used to drive with his father by the house that was so delapidated that it would fit into a spooky horror film.
Through funding from local business, it is a now thriving attraction in Walthamstow, not only preserving this one-time home of a designer of global renown but providing a place for schools education and for older people suffering from dementia to engage in art activities. The house is at the centre of Waltham Forest's London Borough of Culture Bid.
Watch Rudy speaking at our recent 'Art, Investment and Cities' Forum where he joined a panel discussing the importance of supporting cultural projects in cities along with Paula Murray, Director of Culture at Croydon Council, Angela McConville, Chief Executive of the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, Rob Hebden, Director, Swindon Museums & Art Gallery Trust and Tateo Nakajima, Principal, Art, Culture and Entertainment, Arup.
Boodle Hatfield has been giving advice on art and other luxury assets for nearly 300 years. The firm helped to found the Mayfair Art Weekend, bringing together over 100 galleries under an informal programme of tours, talks and exhibitions. The company also provides education and training to the next generation of market professionals at the Courtauld Institute and the Institute of Art & Law.
In 2013, it sponsored Houghton Revisited which saw the return to Norfolk of 200 paintings first accumulated by Robert Walpole and sold by his heirs to Catherine the Great. These paintings have remained in Russia since 1979 but for six months were returned to the UK and exhibited in their original glory at Houghton Hall.
