Gilbert Collection

After initially becoming interested in silver, he assembled a large collection of decorative arts, which he gave the British nation in 1996.

For decades, the collection was on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and Gilbert had promised[citation needed] eventually to make it a permanent gift.

In 2000, it went on public display as "The Gilbert Collection" in a suite of seventeen galleries at Somerset House in London, the audio guide narrated by the actor Tony Clarkin.

The exhibition was fitted out under the supervision of the silver expert Timothy Schroder, and it continued until 27 January 2008.

In early 2011, fifty objects from the collection were returned, by the provisions of a long-term loan, to LACMA.