FINANCIAL TIMES
LONDON---Masterpieces from the “extraordinary” art collection of King Charles I, most of which was sold off after his execution and dispersed abroad,
will be reunited for the first time in 350 years for an exhibition next year. An avid collector and artistic patron, the Stuart king assembled around 1,500 works and 500 sculptures over 20 years, including works by Van Dyck, Rubens,
Titian, Holbein and Mantegna. But after he was beheaded in 1649, the Republican government sold off the bulk of his collection — some to Palace workmen whose bills had not been paid — and melted down pieces in gold and silver. [
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