Sir John Soane’s Museum has delighted and baffled visitors in equal measure ever since it opened to the public in 1837. While Soane stated that the works in his collection were arranged “as studies for my own mind”, he never explained what he meant by that phrase, leaving it to later generations to attempt to tease out the significance of his display. This lecture will attempt to decipher the method behind the unique assemblage of objects that is embodied in the Museum.

Bruce Boucher became Director of Sir John Soane’s Museum in May of 2016. He studied at Harvard University, Oxford University (Rhodes Scholar), and the Courtauld Institute of Art. He taught for over twenty years at University College London before entering the museum world as curator and head of European Sculpture, Decorative Arts, and Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (2002-2009). He is currently at work on a book about Sir John Soane as a collector.

Please join us for a drink at 6PM and immediately after the talk.