The nucleus of this collection was acquired by Samuel Courtauld, who died in 1947, leaving masterpieces by Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, van Gogh, and Gauguin. The gallery also has a superb collection of old-master paintings and drawings, with works by Rubens, Michelangelo, and Tiepolo; plus early-Italian paintings, ivories, and majolica; the Lee collection of old masters; and early-20th-century English and French paintings, as well as 20th-century British paintings.

We come here at least once every season to revisit one painting in particular: Manet's exquisite A Bar at the Folies-Bérgere. Many paintings are displayed without glass, giving the gallery a more intimate feel than most.

The new galleries on the second floor display some 100 paintings and sculptures from the late 19th and 20th centuries, including an outstanding grouping of Fauve paintings along with art by everybody from Matisse to Dufy. You'll find a remarkable series of paintings and drawings by Kandinsky here.