the third duke of bridgewater was probably inspired to buy the paintings by his nephew, earl gower, the ancestor of the dukes of sutherland. certainly, on bridgewater's death five years after the purchase, he bequeathed the titians and the rest of the collection to gower, who put it on display to the public in his london house – it has been on public display ever since. on first seeing the collection there, william hazlitt wrote "i was staggered when i saw the works ... a new sense came upon me, a new heaven and a new earth stood before me.". on the outbreak of the second world war in september 1939, the collection was moved from london to scotland. between 1945–2009, the "diana and actaeon" and "diana and callisto" (with other paintings from the collection, known collectively as "the bridgewater loan" or "the sutherland loan") were on long-term display at the national gallery of scotland, in edinburgh. as well as hazlitt, during their time on public display they have inspired artists such as jmw turner and lucian freud — freud described the pair as "simply the most beautiful pictures in the world".