Instagram story viewer> @aleccobbe> Tagged

Alec Cobbe

@aleccobbe

772

followers

123

following

Designer, painter, musician. Also @cobbe_collection

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

A few best bits at @harewoodhouse

310

4

a few years ago - works in the Admiral’s Bedroom, with its bed alcove and corner chimney

568

13

We’re very saddened to hear of Alec Cobbe’s passing away. Such a talented artist mainly known in the UK for all the country houses he brought to life!
In the Netherlands we were also honoured to have been (the only Dutch interior?) subject to his talent and to enjoy his company at the height of his career and joy in his work.

Richard Alexander ‘Alec’ Cobbe, CVO, was an Irish designer, artist, musical instrument collector and decorator. Over more than sixty years he worked in and on great houses of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and also created this beautiful artwork of the ‘Boudoir’ interior as part of the magnificently preserved interior ensembles at Het Huys ten Donck, renowned as thé Rococo house in the Netherlands.

May his historical legacy in his collection of heritage artwork long be preserved.

With fond memories our thoughts go out to his family, friends and colleagues.

@aleccobbe
@aleccobbedesign

27

1

Last summer, on the hottest day of the year, I went to @hatchlandsparknt to meet @aleccobbe, sent by @apollomagazine to write about his extraordinary collection of paintings by Titian. He'd been a hero of mine ever since I found the Irish country house where he grew up @newbridgehouse and the fantastical museum of curiosities there that he'd saved from dereliction and destruction as a teenager. In September we all went back for lunch with @georg.kitty , @jack_chauncy . Alec's wife Isabel Dillon, his assistant Alexey Moskovin and Andrew Wilson - and he showed us everything again. He agreed to write something on the museum for the next BoBT magazine and I thought and hoped there would be more meetings and more showings of his pictures, playing of his keyboard instruments and talking about his work at other great houses, @petworthnt for his friends the Egremonts, @hatfield_park for Lord Salisbury and @castle_howard for @recidivist17 with the decorator @remy_renzullo and @francis_terry_architect ... this is a small tribute to a charming, brilliant, funny, learned man, aesthete and connoisseur, who was wholly unique. This is the Titian he found at the Rokeby Park sale, I think languishing in the stables, it had been overpainted by the Cromwellian soldier who'd bought it out of the sale of 'the late King's goods' - the executed King Charles I - in the C17th... the hunting mastiffs are wonderful. Alec Cobbe died on the last day of March

470

9

Despite the daunting scale of one of Britain’s most cherished and renowned country houses, the project of Castle Howard’s renovation was deftly handled by Alec Cobbe and Remy Renzullo: whose thoughtful approach leaves each of Castle Howard’s rooms imbued with an engaging atmosphere, shaped by an uncertainty of how recently its previous inhabitants might have left it.

Beyond the grand staircase, its walls framed with sculptures and artefacts — an impressive collection amassed on the Grand Tours of the 4th and 5th Earls — displayed alongside newly commissioned plaster casts and busts, lie Lady Georgiana’s dressing room and adjoining bedroom.

The particular beauty of the choice of ‘Abbotsford’ is its seamlessness with the room, which, minus the discreet velvet ropes, possesses the inviting appeal of any country house bathroom. A bath placed centrally within the room affords guests a grandstand view of the sprawling hand-painted garden beyond. Within the wallpaper, an exquisitely hand-painted botanical scene carries a similar sentiment, in its offering of an enchanting vision of natural beauty.

@castle_howard

Interior redecoration by @aleccobbe and @remy_renzullo
Window treatments and chair textile by @colefaxandfowler
Florals by @willabournearton
Installation by @medlinwithpaint
___________________________
#degournay #degournaywallpaper #interiordesign #handpainted handpaintedwallcovering

4k

47

Sitting room corner on grey day. Treasures in the cabinet.

#townhouserenovation #dublintownhouse #earlyvictorian #blueandwhite

18

0

What a year! Here’s a selection of wonderful things at Castle Howard from 2025:

1. Redecorating the Long Gallery
2. Ancient Egyptian Head, c.1700 BC
3. The North Front basking on Midsummer’s Eve
4. Me in hard hat as we undertook Castle Howard’s 21st Century Renaissance, a vast programme of restoration and representation in the house
5. Rosalind, 9th Countess of Carlisle by #EdwinLong under wraps, for the same reason
6. Scenes from the Trojan War by #AntonioPellegrini in the High Saloon, in the brief period between their Morris paper coverings being removed and destruction by fire in 1940
7. An incredible suite of early eighteenth century chairs, out of storage and being reupholstered
8. The same chairs returned to the 3rd Earl of Carlisle’s fireside
9. The *most* amazing November morning
10. Radiant sunshine in the Long Gallery, with new picture hang by @aleccobbe
11. A drawing for an unexecuted garden building by #DanielGarrett, featuring the colossal Ancient Roman bust of Dionysus bought by the 4th Earl of Carlisle on his second Grand Tour
12. The multi award winning Tapestry Drawing Room
13. Castle Howard in Architectural Digest, June 2025
14. Tired but thrilled at the lunch to launch Castle Howard’s 21st Century Renaissance
15. Sunlight in the dome - need I say more?
16. An incredible set of yellow damask hangings, found whilst sorting through textiles with @marion.buchanan
17. Late night tours
18. Finally a very cool photograph by @fredmaroonphoto; ‘Dailies At Castle Howard’, c.1987

564

14

“I wanted four or five pianos – that’s all. But it’s turned into 55,” says Alec Cobbe of his collection of instruments, some of which have been played by Chopin and Mozart. They are among the many treasures at Hatchlands, a National Trust property that the art restoration expert has leased since 1984 and opens up to visitors for 10 months of the year. Described as one of the key architects of country house style, Cobbe’s own house is a testament to his boundless fascinations and curiosities. See more at the link in bio. ⁠
⁠
📸: Alec Cobbe at Hatchlands, with pianos and harpsichords from The Cobbe Collection © Julian Broad⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#aleccobbe #thecobbecollection #hatchlands #interiors

2k

14

A few more of @aleccobbe in this week’s @fthtsi by @julian_broad_studio because I love this shoot.
Asked how he feels about being described as a master of country-house style, the painter, designer, restorer and accrocheur gently disagrees. “People like John Fowler and Robert Kime have been dubbed the essence of the English-country-house designer. I just thought the idea of filling a house of architectural merit with great pictures would be a wonderful thing to do.” 🖤🖤 #hatchlands

349

7

“I wanted four or five pianos - that’s all. But it’s turned into 55.” Welcome to the world of @aleccobbe, a man of many passions and professions, including art restorer, historian, author, re-hanger, decorator, illustrator (he does party invitations for King Charles), painter and pianist. At his home in Hatchlands, owned by the National Trust, he houses one of the world’s most important collections of pianos and harpsichords, including two belonging to Chopin, another owned by Bach (once used by Mozart) and Bizet’s composing table-piano. We’re quite obsessed with him. Read @jellison22 interview photographed by @julian_broad_studio in this weekend’s @fthtsi Celebration issue 🎺

3

1

I met @aleccobbe at the reopening of the state rooms at Castle Howard in May. He was responsible for its major re-hang, and is considered to be one of the foremost experts in Country House Style. He’s also an art restorer, collector, writer of some dozen art history books, cabinet expert, painter, invitation designer. And has amassed 55 of the world’s most important pianos. All of which he plays at @hatchlandsparknt - the stately home has has been leasing from the National Trust since 1987. I immediately invited myself to visit him. Because why is this genius 80-year-old Irishman not even better known? He is man of many fascinations and to spend a day with him earlier this summer was without question one of the highlights of my year. Read the full interview on ft.com. Portraits by @julian_broad_studio

512

23

✷ Dispatch No. 1 ✷

Here lies the first of what I’m calling my inspirational blog posts. I am being toxically delusional in thinking I might be able to keep this up weekly, but let’s just pretend I will, and we can all agree to be charmed by my ambition.

The plan is simple: every Sunday I’ll post a little dispatch, a person, a place, a painter, that inspires my work as a designer, illustrator, and general pusher of fancy paper.

This week? Alec Cobbe. A restorer, painter, and the man behind some of the most exquisite royal stationery I’ve ever seen. His designs are theatrical, tender, and quietly magnificent. @aleccobbe is still really active and celebrated his 80th Birthday this year.

In a world of infinite digital design and algorithmic shortcuts, it feels important to stay rooted in classical art, historical beauty, and very good paper.

You can read the full post on my journal, complete with paper lust, goats, and a musical suggestion.

Do let me know if you find it inspiring.

#DispatchNo1 #AlecCobbe #StationeryInspo #TrompeLoeilDesign #PaperLover #DesignDispatch #CobbeCollection #NewbridgeHouse

79

8