Mr Ernest Edward Cook, grandson of Thomas Cook, the founder of the Travel Agency, was well-known for many benefactions during his lifetime. When he died on 15 March 1955, at the age of 89, he bequeathed the entire contents of his house at No.1 Sion Hill Place, Bath, to the Art Fund to be distributed to museums and galleries in England. This bequest, which was, at the time, the most important ever left to the Art Fund, comprises over 150 pictures, as well as Beauvais and Mortlake tapestries, Chippendale and other English furniture, English silver, and Chinese, Continental and English porcelain. The distribution, by the Fund, of this outstanding bequest enhanced the collections of nearly a hundred museums and galleries throughout the country.

Provenance

Part of the E E Cook collection, grandson of Thomas Cook of Thomas Cook Travel Agency. Died in 1955 and bequeathed the entire contents of his house at Bath to the National Art Collections Fund.