Strawberry Hill House Seeks Funds to Purchase Rare 18th-Century Painting of Gothic Villa

Strawberry Hill House & Garden has initiated a fundraising campaign to secure £85,000 for the acquisition of a significant 18th-century artwork. The painting, titled 'South East View of Strawberry Hill House,' was created by Swiss artist Johann Heinrich Müntz between approximately 1755 and 1758. This work provides a valuable visual record of Horace Walpole's Gothic Revival villa before major architectural additions were made in 1759, including the Gallery and Round Tower that define the structure's current appearance. Commissioned by Walpole himself, the artwork captures a pivotal moment in the development of Gothic Revival architecture. Only two oil paintings of the house by Müntz are known to exist, with the companion piece housed at the Lewis Walpole Library at Yale University in the United States. The painting offers insight into the evolving design of Strawberry Hill during its formative period. The fundraising effort aims to preserve this historical document that illustrates the early stages of one of Britain's most important Gothic Revival buildings.