Spencer House Talk: trompe l’oeil and mural artist Alan Dodd

Wall painting has provided a popular and highly imaginative means of architectural embellishment throughout design history, from prehistoric cave paintings to Renaissance frescos and the curious ‘Ruin Rooms’ popular in Europe in the later 18th century.

Alan Dodd is a designer and painter with an extensive background in mural and trompe l’oeil decoration. His past projects include the trompe l’oeil drapery on the unusual fretted metal balustrade of the grand staircase at Spencer House during the building’s restoration in the early 1990s.

In this talk, Alan explores the origins and techniques of this illusionistic art form, illustrated with examples of his work at Spencer House and elsewhere, with creations ranging from Gothick dining rooms to Pompeiian ceilings and rustic ruins.

Spencer House was originally built between 1756 and 1766 by John, 1st Earl Spencer and his wife Georgiana. It is an extremely rare survival of an 18th-century aristocratic town mansion with sumptuous interiors that reflect the transition in British taste from Palladian to neo-classical design. The restoration of the house in the late 1980s, under the chairmanship of Lord Rothschild, is still considered one of the most accomplished and ambitious ever carried out, and a testament to the many craftspeople who contributed their skills and knowledge to the project.

After the talk, which takes place in the Great Room designed by neo-classical architect James ‘Athenian’ Stuart, guests have the opportunity to explore the rest of the State Rooms and Spencer House’s impressive collection of artworks and furniture.

Book now

The Rothschild Foundation manage the historic collection of paintings and furniture housed in the state rooms of Spencer House in London.

It was built between 1756-1766 for John, first Earl Spencer, who is an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales. The Spencer family last lived in the House in 1926 and since then it has been let to a variety of tenants.

Having been restored to its original splendour, Spencer House is London’s finest surviving eighteenth-century aristocratic palace.

The House is now used partly as offices, an exclusive venue for events, and is open to visitors on Sundays throughout the year. More information can be found on the Spencer House website.