Biography
Thomas Agnew & Sons was established by Thomas Agnew in Manchester in 1817, and opened its London gallery in 1860, where the firm soon established itself as one of Mayfair’s leading dealerships. Since then Agnew’s has held a pre-eminent position in the world of Old Master paintings, and was instrumental in promoting contemporary British art in the late 19th century.
Over generations, Agnew’s has acted as principal agents and advisors to some of the most important collectors of their time, including Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, Alfred Beit, Alfred and Ferdinand de Rothschild and more recently Paul Mellon, Norton Simon and the Samuel Kress Foundation. Agnew’s also often served as agent for the National Gallery, London in the auction rooms and has been involved in placing masterpieces in major museums around the world. The gallery has handled works by, amongst others, Caravaggio, Van Dyck, El Greco, Frans Hals, Poussin, Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, Titian, Turner and Velázquez, including the latter’s Rokeby Venus in the National Gallery, London.
In 2013, after nearly two centuries of family ownership, Agnew’s was purchased privately and is now run by Lord Anthony Crichton-Stuart, a former head of Christie’s Old Master paintings department, New York.
Source: Gallery websitehttp://www.agnewsgallery.com/firm/, accessed 18/12/2015
