THE GARRICK CLUB, Covent Garden – PRIVATE TOUR  – with a focus on its art collection – the largest and most significant collection of British Theatrical works of art in the world.

I am delighted to offer you this rare opportunity to visit the Garrick Club, an exclusive private members’ club in the heart of Covent Garden.

Our entertaining and informative tour will be given by Sarah Hughes, an expert on the club’s history and its unique collection of paintings, which is the largest and most significant collection of British Theatrical works of art in the world. Sarah is a casting director who, amongst other things, has cast all of Alan Ayckbourn’s productions for over 30 years, so she knows a thing or two about the subject!

Founded in 1831, the Garrick Club was set up by a diverse group of founding members, including peers of the realm as well as writers, actors, musicians, and publishers, whose aim was to combine the traditions of an 18th-century literary society with a more contemporary dining and social club.

The Club was named after the pioneering 18th-century actor David Garrick (1717-1779), who, with his revolutionary and exciting new style of acting, was a pivotal figure in the development of acting and theatre management. The club’s world-class collection of theatrical works includes over a thousand paintings, drawings and sculptures, including important works by Johan Zoffany RA, Thomas Lawrence PRA and John Everett Millais PRA.

The collection continues to grow with additions of more contemporary works, including portraits of Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, Sir Michael Gambon and Sir Tom Courtenay, which comfortably hang alongside portraits of actors such as Henry Irving, David Garrick, Sarah Siddons and Dame Gladys Cooper.

Please do join us for this special pre-Christmas visit to one of London’s leading private members’ clubs and this may well be the last time I organise a tour here as I have been privileged to do visit at least 18 times over the past 20 years!

(I have permission to use this photo of the club’s diining room but other photos of the interior are prohibited, so visiting for our private tour might be the only way you’ll see what’s inside the club!)

Image credit: Image courtesy of the Garrick Club.