The renowned art collection originally built up by Samuel Courtauld in the 1920s and since expanded thanks to generous gifts and bequests, is now permanently housed in the splendid surroundings of Somerset House. The core of the collection - including many important and popular works by late 19th-century masters - reflects Samuel Courtauld's single-minded policy of acquiring paintings by leading Impressionist and post-Impressionist artists. This book includes pictures of major works from the 14th to the early-20th century. These familiar and much-loved paintings include Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergeres, Cezanne's The Card Players or Gauguin's Nevermore, as well as some outstanding examples of works by Monet, Seurat, Degas, Renoir, Pisarro, Modigliani, Bernardo Daddi, Lorenzo Monaco, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Claude Lorraine, Rubens, Gainsborough and Goya. The catalogue is introduced by the present director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, which was established in 1931 as part of the University of London. Each of the works illustrated is accompanied by a descriptive note.