Giovanni Antonio Canal Canaletto The Old Horseguards from St James's Park (c.1749) was purchased by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation in 1992. Since that time this exceptional work of art has been on exhibition at museums throughout the UK and overseas.
Among the two dozen or so views of London that Canaletto produced, this is one of the largest and most spectacular. It commemorates the last remnant of Stuart Whitehall before its demolition in 1750, to be replaced by the present New Horse Guards (which Canaletto also painted).
The decayed brick buildings are flanked by the proud new structures of the Georgian age: the Admiralty on the left, with the spire of St Martin’s behind, and, on the right, a glimpse of the York Buildings water tower and William Kent’s Treasury, with the grand residences of Downing Street in the foreground.
Peopled with innumerable precisely characterised figures, both rich and poor, with the Guards drilling on the parade ground, servants going about their business, men relieving themselves against any available wall and children playing by the Canal, St James presents a delightfully well-observed slice of daily life in London.
The painting has been on long term loan to Tate Britain, London since 2009. It has been further lent to temporary exhibitions across the UK and overseas, including to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery; Royal Academy, London; Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA; Holburne Museum, Bath; Abbot Hall Gallery, Cumbria; Dulwich Picture Gallery, London; Christie's, London.
With the kind assistance of Tate Britain, the trustees have been delighted to agree a new temporary loan to Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (Vienna, Austria) for the exhibition Canaletto and Bellotto between Venice, London and Vienna running from 24 March 2026 to 6 September 2026.
The painting will return to long-term loan and permanent display at Tate Britain, London in November 2026 with free public access.
