Editing Robert Peel (section)

===Art collector===
From 1820 Peel began amassing a major art collection, acquiring works by Dutch and Flemish [[Old Masters]]. He also commissioned a number of paintings by contemporary British artists including ''[[A Frost Scene]]'' by [[William Collins (painter)|William Collins]], ''Napoleon Musing at St Helena'' by [[Benjamin Robert Haydon]] and ''John Knox Preaching Before the Lords of Congregation'' by [[David Wilkie (artist)|David Wilkie]].<ref>Gash, Norman. ''Mr Secretary Peel: The Life of Sir Robert Peel to 1830''. Faber & Faber, 2011. p.275-6</ref>

The biggest commissions Peel handed out were to [[Sir Thomas Lawrence]], the [[President of the Royal Academy]], who painted fifteen portraits for him between 1820 and his death in 1830. This made Peel Lawrence's greatest patron after [[George IV]]. The works Lawrence produced featured leading politicians and prominent figures of literature as well as portraits of Peel's family, notably his 1827 ''[[Portrait of Julia, Lady Peel]]''. <ref>Gash, Norman. ''Mr Secretary Peel: The Life of Sir Robert Peel to 1830''. Faber & Faber, 2011. p.277-79</ref>
Peel displayed his Old Masters in his London residence at Whitehall Gardens, while Lawrence's portraits were located in a dedicated gallery at Drayton Manor.<ref>Gash p.279-80 </ref> Many of these works were then sold by his son to the [[National Gallery]] in 1871.