Almost exactly one square mile, the City of London contains around 2,000 publicly-owned oil paintings. From the large collections owned by the City of London Corporation and the Museum of
London to smaller holdings at St Bartholomew's Hospital, the Bank of England and Dr Johnson's House, this volume uncovers a wealth of artistic talent. Paintings ranging from sixteenth-century
Holbeins to Pre-Raphaelite masterpieces and contemporary abstracts are revealed. The City of London, despite its small size geographically, can lay claim to some of the United Kingdom's finest
paintings.
The Public Catalogue Foundation, a registered charity, has been set up to record the nation's entire collection of oil paintings in public ownership and to make this accessible through a series
of affordable catalogues. The catalogues are produced on a county-by-county basis. On completion, the series will allow us to see a colour illustration and brief description of every oil
painting in our national collection. Collections retain the revenue from the catalogues they sell, and use it for the preservation of oil paintings in their care, and for gallery
education.
Oil Paintings in Public Ownership in The City of London was made possible by the generosity of a large number of donors, who are listed inside.
