London’s Top 10 : Art Galleries

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  1. The National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery

    Located
    adjacent to each other at the top of Trafalgar Square, these
    comprehensive galleries make up the core of Britain’s art collection .




    The National Gallery

  2. Tate Modern

    Housed
    in a huge converted power station on the south bank of the Thames, this
    exciting new gallery covers modern art from 1900 to the present day.




  3. Tate Britain

    The
    other Tate gallery in London, focusing on work from 1500 to the
    present, has the best collection of British art in the world .





  4. Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery

    From Fra Angelico
    to Van Gogh, this is a complete art course in one manageable gallery.
    The core of the collection is the country’s finest Impressionist and
    Post-Impressionist works, amassed by a textile magnate, Samuel Courtauld
    (1876–1947). Many of them are instantly recognisable: Manet’s Bar at the Folies- Bergère, Van Gogh’s Self Portrait With Bandaged Ear, Gauguin’s Te Rerioa and Manet’s Déjeuner sur L’Herbe. Visit Somerset House’s fountain courtyard and riverside terrace café for a drink afterwards .

  5. Wallace Collection

    This
    wonderful Victorian mansion belonged to Sir Richard Wallace (1818–90).
    In 1897, his widow bequeathed the house and their amazing art collection
    to the nation. Covering two floors, the 25 public rooms are beautifully
    furnished with one of the best private collections of French
    18th-century pictures, porcelain and furniture in the world. The
    paintings are rich and voluptuous – notable works include Nicolas
    Poussin’s A Dance to the Music of Time and Frans Hals’ The Laughing Cavalier. There are English portraits by Gainsborough and Reynolds.

  6. Dulwich Picture Gallery

    If
    you have time, this suburban gallery is well worth a short train
    journey. Britain’s oldest art gallery, which had a face-lift for the
    Millennium, was opened in 1817. The important collection includes
    Murillo’s Flower Girl, Poussin’s Triumph of David and Rembrandt’s Girl at the Window .

  7. Serpentine Gallery

    Major
    contemporary artists tend to be shown here. Cindy Sherman and Gerhard
    Richter have both showcased their works. This is one of London’s most
    exciting galleries, often transforming its space to suit the work.
    Installations have been known to spill out into the park – even to
    become an outside tearoom. Busy on warm weekends.




  8. Royal Academy

    The
    Royal Academy’s continual big-name temporary exhibitions draw the
    crowds, and it is often necessary to reserve a ticket in advance. The
    traditional Summer Exhibition, which anyone can apply to enter, is also
    extremely popula.

  9. Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace

    Established
    in 1962 to display works from the Royal Collection, this fascinating
    gallery shows paintings and other pieces from the royal collection.




  10. Kenwood House

    This
    majestic mansion with interiors designed by Robert Adam has a small but
    important collection comprising 17th-century Dutch and Flemish works,
    18th-century English portraits, and a small French Rococo section. There
    are statues by Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth in the extensive
    grounds .