Dr Nicola Pickering

Career summary

I am am art and architectural historian. I have an academic grounding in history and the history of art and architecture (with a PhD and an MPhil) that has been supported more theoretically by an MA in curating and work experience in the heritage sector. I have developed my experience of specialist curatorial work through my employment with a wide variety of organisations. I have a passion for history, art and architecture, and for the care and study of historical objects, stories and ideas.

Areas of interest / research

My specialism lies in the architecture and interior decoration of the English and Scottish country house. I am particularly interested in the history of collecting in the 18th and 19th centuries, most especially in collections intended to be shown in elite domestic interiors. My PhD in cultural history (KCL) focused on the study of the country house and country house collections (paintings, furniture, objets d’art); specifically I examined the homes and collections of the Rothschild family in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. .

Details of books/publications relating to your work on British portraiture

  • ‘Mayer Amschel Rothschild and Mentmore House’, The Country House, Material Culture and Consumption, ed. A. Hann and J. Stobart (English Heritage, 2015), pp. 175-186.
  • ‘Robert Hacumblen’s Chapel’, King’s College Chapel 1515-2015: Music Art and Religion in Cambridge, ed. J. M. Massing and N. Zeeman (Harvey Miller, 2014), pp. 97-113.