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>> Reporter: If you were born in
an English manor house, you grew
up under the watchful gaze of
art.
But what if you weren't an
aristocrat?
>> What does anyone do?
Buy it, I presume.
>> You will not buy it.
My lot inherits it.
>> Without the pedigree, one man
made the great art of the manor
house available to everyone, by
buying it and giving it to the
British nation.
He was Edward Cecil Guinness.
>> Put together a collection of
over 300 works.
And he really wanted to create
the kind of atmosphere that he
saw in great aristocratic homes.
This is a portrait of a young
woman named kitty fisher.
She was a high class ***.
Reynolds portrays her as
Cleopatra, one femme fatale
portraying another femme fatale
of the past.
>> It seems like anyone could
put this on a movie screen.
>> Yes.
Here is Emma Hart, portrayed by
George Romney.
She came from very humble
origins and rose very quickly
through the ranks of British
society, simply because she
wasso beautiful.
Later in life, she had this
famous affair with an admiral
and it was a great scandal.
Part of the reason she became
such a public figure is because
she had an incredible alliance
with this painter, George
Romney.
And look what he's done with her
here.
He's made her the most virginal,
the most industrious person you
can imagine.
Once again, this is an ordinary
person, a young married woman.
But she's shown as a goddess.
So it's this hyper romantic
image of this very ordinary
woman.
I think Reynolds does this
portrait because she has
fantastical notions about what
life should be.
Life should be fun, interesting.
She has a very active social
life in the city, she has
multiple affairs with important
people.
A replica of this painting hangs
in downton Abbey.
>> On the staircase.
>> That's right.
>> I wish you'd told me, I could
have fixed something up for
myself.
>> Believe it or not, this is
another portrait of Mrs.
Musters.
>> The same Mrs. musters?
>> The same Mrs. Musters, but
this time, by George Romney, who
painted Emma Hart.
It's also interesting to me that
she's two years younger here
than kind of the wind-swept
romantic heroine that you see in
Reynolds' painting.
>> She's not the socialite.
>> I don't think we care about
who she is in this painting in
the same way that when we look
at the other painting.
This beautiful portrait is by
Thomas gainsboro, who is
Reynolds' greatest rival.
And it portrays a young woman
named Mary, who will soon be
known as countess howe.
And it's a painting that really
made gainesboro's reputation.
He want people to do what we're
doing now, which is look closely
tremendous brush work and then
stand back, like we're doing
now.
>> It just shimmers.
>> Yeah.
>> The centerpiece of the
collection is a self-portrait by
Rembrandt.
At age 59, he paints himself as
a working artist.
The brush strokes of his robe
and tools are rough and quick
but Rembrandt's serene face
suggests he has momentarily
stepped away from his work.
>> It's an important collection
for us here in Seattle because
this collection never travels.
>> The treasures of kenwood
house come to Seattle thanks to
the generosity of a commoner,
edward Cecil Guinness.
>> He wanted anybody to feel
like they could visit anytime
and feel like an aristocrat and
imagine themselves living in
this beautiful setting.
It was a great legacy.