LONDON.- After a period of 10 years Sir John Ritblat retires as Chairman of the Wallace Collection. During his tenure the Wallace Collection has completed several major building projects, including the highly successful refurbishment of the Great Gallery, that have improved Hertford House and provided an exemplary setting for this national collection of works of art. Annual visitor numbers have increased by some 80% under Sir John’s stewardship and the foundations for future growth and development have been put in place. He will continue his association by serving as Chairman of the Wallace Collection Foundation – an independent Trust set up to support the future ambitions of the Collection.

The Wallace Collection announced that António Horta-Osório has been appointed as the Chairman of the Wallace Collection from January 2015. After steering Santander UK very successfully through the crisis and serving as a member of the Court of the Bank of England, António became Group Chief Executive of the Lloyds Banking Group in March 2011. He is a member of the Governing Body of the London Business School and a member of the Advisory Board of the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon with a keen interest in the arts and their support.

Of the appointment Sir John commented, “I am delighted to see the Wallace Collection in such good hands. I am sure my successor will prove to be an outstanding choice and will very much enjoy his role at this glorious museum. “

António Horta Osório, on his appointment said, “I feel immensely privileged to have the opportunity to be the Chairman of the Wallace Collection for the next phase of its development and to build on the great work done by Sir John over the past decade.“

The Wallace Collection is one of the most outstanding art collections in the world – its French eighteenth-century art, princely arms and armour and Old Master paintings are among the very best. The Collection was formed over five generations of the Hertford family and given to the Nation in 1897 by Lady Wallace, widow of the last descendant in this branch of the family. In the nineteenth century, the family was based in Paris and London and the European character of the Collection can still be felt today.