Charles Lock Eastlake

Biography

Charles Lock Eastlake trained as a painter and art historian, yet his lasting impact came as a curator who oversaw the National Gallery and later the Royal Academy, championing conservation and the study of early Italian masters.

He wrote influential treatises on painting techniques, advocated for public access to art, and his efforts shaped museum practice in Britain; he was laid to rest in Kensal Green Cemetery, near many artists he inspired.