Have you ever wondered how Velázquez’s Waterseller of Seville came to be in Apsley House, or why his Venus and Cupid ended up in the National Gallery? Or what Murillo’s beggar boys with their grubby feet are doing in Dulwich? Or why Velázquez’s old woman is cooking her eggs in Edinburgh? Or what Goya’s neighbour, Isabel de Porcel, is doing in London?

This lecture explores how British collections came to own many prize paintings by Spain’s greatest artists – and looks at the arts, the collectors, dealers, and diplomats who brought them.

About the Lecturer

Gail Turner is a historian, art historian, and painter. She is passionate about Spain and Spanish topics. She has been a long-time lecturer for The Arts Society, and before Covid she taught on courses at the V&A, and for Art Pursuits, the National Gallery and the Art Fund. She has lectured on Cambridge University Summer Schools, the Courtauld Institute Summer Courses, Inscape, and for many arts organisations in Europe. In the past she led tours to Spain for The Arts Society and Martin Randall Travel. Gail lectured in the Prado and Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid in the 1980s, and was Deputy Curator of Keats Shelley Memorial House, Rome, before that. She was also once a Christie’s consultant in Illuminated Manuscripts. In 2015 Gail was awarded the Encomienda de Isabel la Católica (the equivalent of the CBE) by the King of Spain for promoting Spanish culture among British audiences. She is President of The Arts Society Colchester.