In 1923, the industrialist Samuel Courtauld gave #50,000 to the nation to form the core of a great collection of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. Simultaneously, he was building up the finest collection of French late-19th century paintings ever made in Britain, most of which went into the collection at the Courtauld Institute of Art. This book tells the story of Courtauld's collecting and patronage. Essays by several writers place his activities in the contexts of the English cultural milieu and of his family, while the gradual acceptance of modern French art in England's national museums is charted. Detailed catalogue entries discuss all the French pictures in the Courtauld's private collection, and a complete list of his purchases is presented in an annotated checklist that makes use of much recently discovered information. Impressionism and England is published to accompany a major exhibition at the Courtauld institute opening on 17th June 1994.