Old master drawings from the Malcolm Collection

In 1895 Parliament voted a special grant of #25,000 to the British Museum so that it could aquire the collection of prints and drawings formed by John Malcolm of Poltalloch. Comprising almost 1000 drawings and more than 400 prints, the Malcolm Collection was considered an important addition to the Museum's holdings of old master drawings, as it included works by Sandro Botticelli, Andrea del Verrocchio, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Claude Lorrain and Watteau. This work presents a selection of 100 old master drawings from the Malcolm collection. An introduction, by Stephen Coppel, outlines the history of the collection and the life of John Malcolm, a passionate collector and connoisseur.