Dulwich Picture Gallery is opposite Dulwich Park. The gallery opened in 1817. It was England_s first purpose-built public art gallery. Sir Francis Bourgeois had left his art collection to Dulwich College. He also left £2000 for the building of a new gallery to house the work. His instructions were that the gallery should be designed by the architect Sir John Soane.
Architect John Soane
John Soane was a well-known architect in the late 18th and early 19th
centuries. He designed the former Bank of England, Pitshanger Manor in
Ealing and his home at 12 Lincoln's Inn Fields. His house was later turned
into the Sir John Soane's Museum.
Joseph Michael Gandy
This watercolour from the early 1820s is by Joseph Michael Gandy. Gandy
produced many drawings of John Soane's designs. He became known for a
large series of paintings of architectural fantasies which he exhibited at
the Royal Academy.