Biggest Private Collection Worldwide(British Royal Family) to Go Online

According to The Art Newspaper, the biggest private collection in the world is owned by the British royal family. With 7,564 paintings, it tops the National Gallery in London (2,300 works) and the Tate (5,300 works) by a mile. During an unprecedented condition survey, the entire collection will be counted, photographed for publication on the Royal Collection website, and any damaged works will be restored. The ambitious programme will commence this summer and will occupy a team of four conservators and frame technicians for at least three years. The study will cover all works in the 13 royal residences, starting with Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, Sandringham in Norfolk, and Balmoral in Scotland. Norfolk, and Balmoral in Scotland. collections-privees-royal-collection Of the 7,564 paintings that will need to be removed from their frames and gone over with a fine-tooth comb, approximately 750 belong to members of the royal family personally and the Queen received another 300 contemporary works as gifts. The remaining 6,500 include works by Pietrer Bruegel the Elder, Rembrandt and Van Dyck. The cost of the survey, which could amount to several million pounds, will be covered by the Royal Collection Trust, which is mostly funded by admission fees to the major royal residences. Read more about another private collection: The Frick Collection expands