The Saloon, or Great Drawing Room, at Saltram, Devon, designed by Robert Adam in 1768. ©National Trust Images/John Hammond

Saltram House in Devon underwent major interior and exterior design changes during the mid-18th century to the early 19th century—transforming the building from a sizable Jacobean house to a fashionable Georgian mansion. Much of these changes were championed by the women of the Parker family: Lady Catherine Parker in the 1740-50s and Lady Theresa Parker after 1769-75. As the family’s aristocratic status and fortune strengthened through strategic marriages, the Parkers used portraiture to promote ideas of family dynasty and to emphasize their rising social status. Zoë Shearman, NT Property Curator at Saltram, will speak about the house’s history from the late middle-ages to the early 19th century and examine the house’s ownership under the Parker family. She will discuss the influence of the family’s artistic relationships (and their London connections) on the house’s interior decoration. She will illustrate the later change to more classically inspired interior decoration, under Robert Adam, as well as the acquisition Saltram’s Grand Tour and Chinese collections. Finally, Ms. Shearman will discuss how the adaptation of Saltram to the Palladian-style, and the formation of the collection, paralleled the rise in the family’s fortune and status.

Zoë Shearman is the National Trust Property Curator at Saltram House, Devon. She has significant experience as a curator and consultant with a focus on cultural heritage, contemporary art, and social practice. Previously, she was founder Director/Curator of projects agency Relational; Artistic Co-Director of Spacex Gallery, Exeter; and Director of Visual Arts for Riverside Studios, London. She holds a degree in the History of Art from the University of the Arts, London. She has taught as a number of postgraduate curatorial programs and has worked as a curatorial consultant for Arts Council England, the Architectural Association, and University of Exeter.

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