In the eighteenth century a former Lord Mayor, Alderman John
Boydell, presented a series of paintings for the Common Council
Chamber in Guildhall - portraits of important naval and military
commanders, representations of well known naval battles, historical
subjects and uplifting allegorical scenes - designed to improve the
moral character of the City of London’s governing body, the Court
of Common Council, and of the members of the public who viewed
them.
Further gifts and bequests - including that by Mary Keene in
1974 of 175 oil paintings and more than 1000 watercolours and
drawings by the important twentieth century British artist Sir
Matthew Smith and the bequest to the Mansion House in 1987 of 84
Dutch and Flemish paintings from the collection of Lord Samuel - as
well as purchases over the next century or so largely shaped the
Collection as it stands today.