Raphael to Cozens: drawings from the Richard Payne Knight bequest

The antiquarian and art collector Richard Payne Knight bequeathed over a thousand drawings to the British Museum. The superb quality of his collection transformed the Museum's graphic holdings and established it as a place where visitors could admire old master drawings alongside works of contemporary British art.

The exhibition explores the breadth of Payne Knight's intellectual interests through some of the most celebrated works from the bequest. Drawings by Renaissance and Baroque painters like Raphael, Michelangelo and Claude Lorrain will be shown alongside work by Payne Knight's contemporaries, including Thomas Gainsborough and John Robert Cozens. 

This marks the first time that a representative selection of this important bequest has been displayed since its arrival at the British Museum in 1824.

The exhibition runs from May 15 – September 14, 2025 at the British Museum, Great Russell Street, London,  WC1B 3DG, UK.

To learn more, please click here.   

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