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{{Short description|Art museum in London, England}}
{{Distinguish|text=the [[National Portrait Gallery, London]]}}
{{Other uses|List of national galleries}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox museum
| name            = National Gallery
| logo            = National Gallery London logo.svg
| logo_upright    = .75
| image           = Galería_Nacional,_Londres,_Inglaterra,_2014-08-07,_DD_036.JPG
| caption         = Trafalgar Square façade
| pushpin_map     = Central London
| map_type        = central London
| coordinates     = {{WikidataCoord||type:landmark_region:GB-WSM|display=it}}
| established     = {{Start date and age|1824|df=yes}}, current location since 1838
| type            = Art museum
| location        = [[Trafalgar Square]], London, England, United Kingdom
| visitors        = 3,096,508 (2023)<ref name=ALVA>{{cite news |title=British Museum is the most-visited UK attraction again |work=BBC News |date=18 March 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68577122 |access-date=18 March 2024}}</ref>
| director        = [[Gabriele Finaldi]]
| publictransit   = {{rint|london|underground}} {{lus|Charing Cross}}<br />{{rint|gb|Rail}} {{rws|Charing Cross}}<br />''[[#Transport connections|Detailed information below]]''
| website         = {{Official URL}}
}}

The '''National Gallery''' is an [[art museum]] in [[Trafalgar Square]] in the [[City of Westminster]], in [[Central London]], England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our history {{!}} About us {{!}} National Gallery, London |url=https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/about-us/our-history |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=www.nationalgallery.org.uk}}</ref>{{NoteTag|Sculptures and applied art are in the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]], the British Museum houses earlier art, non-Western art, prints and drawings, and art of a later date is at [[Tate Modern]]. Some British art is in the National Gallery, but the National Collection of British Art is mainly in [[Tate Britain]].}} The current director of the National Gallery is [[Gabriele Finaldi]].

The National Gallery is an [[exempt charity]], and a [[non-departmental public body]] of the [[Department for Culture, Media and Sport]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/about-us/organisation/constitution/ |title=Constitution |publisher=The National Gallery |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406213015/http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/about-us/organisation/constitution/ |archive-date=6 April 2010}}</ref> Its collection belongs to the government on behalf of the British public, and entry to the main collection is free of charge.

Unlike comparable museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed by nationalising an existing royal or princely art collection. It came into being when the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] bought [[Angerstein Collection|38 paintings]] from the heirs of [[John Julius Angerstein]] in 1824. After that initial purchase, the gallery was shaped mainly by its early directors, especially [[Charles Lock Eastlake]], and by private donations, which now account for two-thirds of the collection.{{sfn|Gentili|Barcham|Whiteley|2000|p=7}} The collection is smaller than many European national galleries, but encyclopaedic in scope; most major developments in Western painting "from [[Giotto]] to [[Paul Cézanne|Cézanne]]"<ref>Chilvers, Ian (2003). ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists''. Oxford Oxford University Press, p. 413. The formula was used by [[Michael Levey]], later the gallery's eleventh director, for the title of a popular survey of European painting: Levey, Michael (1972). ''From Giotto to Cézanne: A Concise History of Painting''. London: Thames and Hudson</ref> are represented with important works. It used to be claimed that this was one of the few national galleries that had all its works on permanent exhibition,{{sfn|Potterton|1977|p=8}} but this is no longer the case.

The present building, the third site to house the National Gallery, was designed by [[William Wilkins (architect)|William Wilkins]]. Building began in 1832 and it opened to the public in 1838. Only the façade onto Trafalgar Square remains essentially unchanged from this time, as the building has been expanded piecemeal throughout its history. Wilkins's building was often criticised for the perceived weaknesses of its design and for its lack of space; the latter problem led to the establishment of the [[Tate Britain|Tate Gallery]] for British art in 1897. The Sainsbury Wing, a 1991 extension to the west by [[Robert Venturi]] and [[Denise Scott Brown]], is a significant example of [[Postmodern architecture|Postmodernist]] architecture in Britain.

==History==

===The call for a National Gallery===
[[File:Sebastiano del Piombo, The Raising of Lazarus.jpg|alt=Realistic painting of a robed figure, arms extended, standing outside on a small platform among people doing various things such as talking to each other, but most of whom are looking at him.|thumb|upright|''[[The Raising of Lazarus (Sebastiano del Piombo)|The Raising of Lazarus]]'' by [[Sebastiano del Piombo]], from the [[Angerstein collection]]. This became the founding collection of the National Gallery in 1824. The painting has the [[accession number (library science)|accession number]] NG1, making it officially the first painting to enter the gallery.]]

The late 18th century saw the [[nationalisation]] of royal or princely art collections across mainland Europe. The Bavarian royal collection (now in the [[Alte Pinakothek]], Munich) opened to the public in 1779, that of the [[House of Medici|Medici]] in [[Florence]] around 1789 (as the [[Uffizi]] Gallery), and the Museum Français at the [[Louvre]] was formed out of the former French royal collection in 1793.{{sfn|Taylor|1999|pp=29–30}} [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]], however, did not follow other European countries, and the British [[Royal Collection]] still remains in the sovereign's possession. In 1777, the British government had the opportunity to buy an art collection of international stature, when the descendants of Sir [[Robert Walpole]] put [[Walpole collection|his collection]] up for sale. The MP [[John Wilkes]] argued for the government to buy this "invaluable treasure" and suggested that it be housed in "a noble gallery... to be built in the spacious garden of the [[British Museum]]".<ref>{{cite news|first=Andrew |last=Moore |title=Sir Robert Walpole's pictures in Russia |work=Magazine Antiques |date=2 October 1996 |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1026/is_n4_v150/ai_18850830/pg_2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016151632/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1026/is_n4_v150/ai_18850830/pg_2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=14 October 2007}}</ref> Nothing came of Wilkes's appeal and 20 years later the collection was bought in its entirety by [[Catherine the Great]]; it is now to be found in the [[State Hermitage Museum]] in [[Saint Petersburg]].

A plan to acquire 150 paintings from the [[Orléans collection]], which had been brought to London for sale in 1798, also failed, despite the interest of both King [[George III]] and the Prime Minister, [[William Pitt the Younger]].{{sfn|Penny|2008|p=466}} The twenty-five paintings from that collection now in the gallery, including "NG1", arrived later by a variety of routes. In 1799, the dealer [[Noël Desenfans]] offered a ready-made national collection to the British government; he and his partner Sir [[Francis Bourgeois]] had assembled it for the king of [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland]], before the [[Third Partition of Poland|Third Partition]] in 1795 abolished Polish independence.{{sfn|Taylor|1999|pp=29–30}} This offer was declined and Bourgeois bequeathed the collection to his old school, [[Dulwich College]], on his death. The collection opened in 1814 in Britain's first purpose-built public gallery, the [[Dulwich Picture Gallery]]. The Scottish dealer William Buchanan and the collector Joseph Count Truchsess both formed art collections expressly as the basis for a future national collection, but their respective offers (both made in 1803) were also declined.{{sfn|Taylor|1999|pp=29–30}}

Following the Walpole sale many artists, including [[James Barry (painter)|James Barry]] and [[John Flaxman]], had made renewed calls for the establishment of a National Gallery, arguing that a British school of painting could only flourish if it had access to the canon of European painting. The [[British Institution]], founded in 1805 by a group of aristocratic connoisseurs, attempted to address this situation. The members lent works to exhibitions that changed annually, while an art school was held in the summer months. However, as the paintings that were lent were often mediocre,<ref>Fullerton, Peter (1979). ''Some aspects of the early years of the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom 1805–1825''. MA dissertation, Courtauld Institute of Art., p. 37</ref> some artists resented the Institution and saw it as a racket for the gentry to increase the sale prices of their [[Old Master]] paintings.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=45}} One of the Institution's founding members, [[Sir George Beaumont, 7th Baronet]], would eventually play a major role in the National Gallery's foundation by offering a gift of 16 paintings.

In 1823, another major art collection came on the market, which had been assembled by the recently deceased [[John Julius Angerstein]]. Angerstein was a Russian-born émigré banker based in London; his collection numbered 38 paintings, including works by [[Raphael]] and [[William Hogarth|Hogarth]]'s ''[[Marriage A-la-Mode (Hogarth)|Marriage A-la-Mode]]'' series. On 1 July 1823, [[George Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover|George Agar-Ellis]], a [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]] politician, proposed to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] that it purchase the collection.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=51}} The appeal was given added impetus by Beaumont's offer, which came with two conditions: that the government buy the [[Angerstein collection]], and that a suitable building was to be found. The unexpected repayment of a war debt by [[Austrian Empire|Austria]] finally moved the government to buy Angerstein's collection, for £57,000.

===Foundation and early history===
[[File:National Gallery at 100 Pall Mall.jpg|alt=Engraving of a three-storey building, seen from the street. Women in long dresses date the picture.|thumb|left|upright|100 [[Pall Mall, London|Pall Mall]], the home of the National Gallery from 1824 to 1834]]

The National Gallery opened in 1824 in Angerstein's former townhouse at No. 100 [[Pall Mall, London|Pall Mall]].{{NoteTag|The opening date is said to have been 10 May 1824, but there is a record of a visit by Agar-Ellis on 5 May during which he met the Keeper, William Seguier, who remarked that opening the gallery to the public free of charge had already proved to be a success, "and that all the people are very orderly and well-behaved". {{Harv|Smith|2009|p=27}}}} Angerstein's paintings were joined in 1826 by those from Beaumont's collection, and in 1831 by the Reverend [[William Holwell Carr]]'s bequest of 35 paintings.{{sfn|Crookham|2009|p=43}} Initially the Keeper of Paintings, [[William Seguier]], bore the burden of managing the gallery, but in July 1824 some of this responsibility fell to the newly formed board of trustees.

The National Gallery at Pall Mall was frequently overcrowded and hot, and its diminutive size in comparison with the Louvre in Paris was a cause of national embarrassment. But Agar-Ellis, by then a trustee of the gallery, appraised the site for being "in the very gangway of London"; this was seen as necessary for the gallery to fulfil its social purpose.{{sfn|Taylor|1999|pp=36–37}} [[Subsidence]] in No. 100 caused the gallery to move briefly to No. 105 Pall Mall, which the novelist [[Anthony Trollope]] described as a "dingy, dull, narrow house, ill-adapted for the exhibition of the treasures it held".{{sfn|Taylor|1999|pp=36–37}} This in turn had to be demolished for the opening of a road to [[Carlton House Terrace]].<ref name="Survey">[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=68408 'Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery', ''Survey of London: volume 20: St Martin-in-the-Fields, pt III: Trafalgar Square & Neighbourhood''] (1940), pp. 15–18. Date accessed: 15 December 2009.</ref>

In 1832, construction began on a new building by [[William Wilkins (architect)|William Wilkins]] on the northern half of the site of the old [[Royal Mews]] in [[Charing Cross]], after the transformation of its southern half into [[Trafalgar Square]] in the late 1820s. The location was a significant one, between the wealthy [[West End of London|West End]] and poorer areas to the east.{{sfn|MacGregor|2004|p=30}} The argument that the collection could be accessed by people of all [[social classes]] outstripped other concerns, such as the pollution of central London or the failings of Wilkins's building, when the prospect of a move to [[South Kensington]] was mooted in the 1850s. According to the Parliamentary Commission of 1857, "The ''existence'' of the pictures is not the end purpose of the collection, but the means only to give the people an ennobling enjoyment".<ref>Quoted in {{Harvnb|Langmuir|2005|p=11}}</ref>

=== Growth under Eastlake and his successors ===
15th- and 16th-century Italian paintings were at the core of the National Gallery and for the first 30 years of its existence the trustees' independent acquisitions were mainly limited to works by [[High Renaissance]] masters. Their conservative tastes resulted in several missed opportunities and the management of the gallery later fell into complete disarray, with no acquisitions being made between 1847 and 1850.<ref>Robertson, David (2004). "Eastlake, Sir Charles Lock (1793–1865)", ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref> A critical House of Commons report in 1851 called for the appointment of a director, whose authority would surpass that of the trustees. Many thought the position would go to the German art historian [[Gustav Friedrich Waagen]], whom the gallery had consulted on previous occasions about the lighting and display of the collections. However, the man preferred for the job by [[Queen Victoria]], [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Albert]] and the Prime Minister, [[John Russell, 1st Earl Russell|Lord John Russell]], was the Keeper of Paintings at the gallery, Sir [[Charles Lock Eastlake]]. Eastlake, who was President of the [[Royal Academy]], played an essential role in the foundation of the [[Arundel Society]] and knew most of London's leading art experts.

[[File:Piero della Francesca - Battesimo di Cristo (National Gallery, London).jpg|thumb|right|upright|''[[The Baptism of Christ (Piero della Francesca)|The Baptism of Christ]]'' by [[Piero della Francesca]], one of Eastlake's purchases]]

The new director's taste was for the Northern and Early Italian Renaissance masters or "primitives", who had been neglected by the gallery's acquisitions policy but were slowly gaining recognition from connoisseurs. He made annual tours to the continent and to Italy in particular, seeking out appropriate paintings to buy for the gallery. In all, he bought 148 pictures abroad and 46 in Britain,<ref>''Grove Dictionary of Art'', Vol. 9, p. 683</ref> among the former such seminal works as [[Paolo Uccello]]'s ''[[The Battle of San Romano]]''. Eastlake also amassed a private art collection during this period, consisting of paintings that he knew did not interest the trustees. His ultimate aim, however, was for them to enter the National Gallery; this was duly arranged upon his death by his friend and successor as director, [[William Boxall]], and his widow Lady [[Elizabeth Eastlake]].

One of the most persistent criticisms of the National Gallery, other than of the perceived inadequacies of the building, has been of its conservation policy. The gallery's detractors have accused it of having had an over-zealous approach to restoration. The first cleaning operation at the National Gallery began in 1844 after Eastlake's appointment as Keeper, and was the subject of attacks in the press after the first three paintings to receive the treatment – a [[Peter Paul Rubens|Rubens]], a [[Aelbert Cuyp|Cuyp]] and a [[Diego Velázquez|Velázquez]] – were unveiled to the public in 1846.{{sfn|Bomford|1997|p=7}} The gallery's most virulent critic was J. Morris Moore, who wrote a series of letters to ''[[The Times]]'' under the pseudonym "Verax" savaging the institution's cleanings. While an 1853 Parliamentary [[Select committee (United Kingdom)|select committee]] set up to investigate the matter cleared the gallery of any wrongdoing, criticism of its methods has been erupting sporadically ever since from some in the art establishment.

[[File:Vignetta-Punch-Restauro.gif|thumb|left|upright=1.15|An 1847 ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' cartoon by [[John Leech (caricaturist)|John Leech]] depicting the restoration controversy then ongoing]]

The gallery's lack of space remained acute in this period. In 1845, a large bequest of British paintings was made by [[Robert Vernon (art patron)|Robert Vernon]]; there was insufficient room in the Wilkins building so they were displayed first in Vernon's town house at No. 50 Pall Mall and then at [[Marlborough House]].<ref name="BakerHenry">Baker, Christopher and Henry, Tom (2001). "A short history of the National Gallery" in ''The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue''. London: National Gallery Company, pp. x–xix</ref> The gallery was even less well equipped for its next major bequest, as [[J. M. W. Turner]] was to bequeath the entire contents of his studio, excepting unfinished works, to the nation upon his death in 1851. The first 20 of these were displayed off-site in Marlborough House in 1856.{{sfn|Crookham|2012|p=56}} [[Ralph Nicholson Wornum]], the gallery's Keeper and Secretary, worked with [[John Ruskin]] to bring the bequest together. The stipulation in Turner's will that two of his paintings be displayed alongside works by [[Claude Lorrain|Claude]]{{sfn|Smith|2009|pp=72–73}} is still honoured as of 2024, but his bequest has never been adequately displayed in its entirety; today the works are divided between Trafalgar Square and the Clore Gallery, a small purpose-built extension to [[Tate Britain]] completed in 1985.

The third director, Sir [[Frederic William Burton]], laid the foundations of the collection of 18th-century art and made several outstanding purchases from English private collections. The acquisition in 1885 of two paintings from [[Blenheim Palace]], Raphael's ''[[Ansidei Madonna]]'' and [[Anthony van Dyck|van Dyck]]'s ''[[Equestrian Portrait of Charles I]]'', with a record-setting grant of £87,500 from the [[HM Treasury|Treasury]], brought the gallery's "golden age of collecting" to an end, as its annual purchase grant was suspended for several years thereafter.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|pp=87–89}} When the gallery purchased [[Hans Holbein the Younger|Holbein]]'s ''[[The Ambassadors (Holbein)|Ambassadors]]'' from the [[William Pleydell-Bouverie, 5th Earl of Radnor|Earl of Radnor]] in 1890, it did so with the aid of private individuals for the first time in its history.{{sfn|Smith|2009|p=93}} In 1897, the formation of the National Gallery of British Art, known unofficially from early in its history as the [[Tate]] Gallery, allowed some British works to be moved off-site, following the precedent set by the Vernon collection and the Turner Bequest. Works by artists born after 1790 were moved to the new gallery on [[Millbank]], which allowed [[William Hogarth|Hogarth]], Turner and [[John Constable|Constable]] to remain in Trafalgar Square.

===Early 20th century===
[[File:Diego Velázquez - Rokeby Venus.jpg|alt=Realistic painting of a nude woman seen from behind, reclining on a couch. She is looking at her reflection in a mirror held by a winged child.|thumb|right|''Venus at her Mirror'' (The ''[[Rokeby Venus]]'') by [[Diego Velázquez]]]]

The [[Great depression of British agriculture]] at the turn of the 20th century caused many aristocratic families to sell their paintings, but the British national collections were priced out of the market by American plutocrats.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=107}} This prompted the foundation of the [[National Art-Collections Fund]], a society of subscribers dedicated to stemming the flow of artworks to the United States. Their first acquisition for the National Gallery was [[Diego Velázquez|Velázquez]]'s ''[[Rokeby Venus]]'' in 1906, followed by [[Hans Holbein the Younger|Holbein]]'s ''[[Portrait of Christina of Denmark]]'' in 1909. However, despite the crisis in aristocratic fortunes, the following decade was one of several great bequests from private collectors. In 1909, the industrialist [[Ludwig Mond]] gave 42 Italian Renaissance paintings, including the ''[[Mond Crucifixion]]'' by [[Raphael]], to the gallery.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/mond_bequest/default.htm |title= The Mond Bequest| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051102111149/http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/mond_bequest/default.htm |archive-date=2 November 2005 |publisher=National Gallery}}</ref> Other bequests of note were those of [[George Salting]] in 1910, [[Austen Henry Layard]] in 1916 and Sir [[Hugh Lane]] in 1917.

The initial reception of [[Impressionism|Impressionist]] art at the gallery was exceptionally controversial. In 1906, Sir Hugh Lane promised 39 paintings, including [[Pierre-Auguste Renoir|Renoir]]'s ''[[The Umbrellas (Renoir painting)|Umbrellas]]'', to the National Gallery on his death, unless a suitable building could be built in [[Dublin]]. Although eagerly accepted by the director [[Charles Holroyd]], they were received with extreme hostility by the trustees; [[Bertram Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale|Lord Redesdale]] wrote that "I would as soon expect to hear of a Mormon service being conducted in [[St. Paul's Cathedral]] as to see the exhibition of the works of the modern French Art-rebels in the sacred precincts of Trafalgar Square".<ref>Quoted in {{Harvnb|Conlin|2006|p=131}}</ref> Perhaps as a result of such attitudes, Lane amended his will with a codicil that the works should only go to Ireland, but crucially this was never witnessed.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=132}} Lane died on board the {{RMS|Lusitania}} in 1915, and a dispute began which was not resolved until 1959. Part of the collection is now on permanent loan to the [[Hugh Lane Gallery]] and other works rotate between London and Dublin every few years.

A fund for the purchase of modern paintings established by [[Samuel Courtauld (art collector)|Samuel Courtauld]] in 1923 bought [[Georges-Pierre Seurat|Seurat]]'s ''[[Bathers at Asnières]]'' and other modern works for the nation;{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=131}} in 1934, many of these were transferred to the National Gallery from the Tate.

The director [[Kenneth Clark]]'s decision in 1939 to label a group of Venetian paintings, ''[[Scenes from Tebaldeo's Eclogues]]'', as works by [[Giorgione]] was controversial at the time, and the panels were soon identified as works by [[Andrea Previtali]] by a junior curator Clark had appointed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/research/research-papers/close-examination/scenes-from-tebaldeos-eclogues|title=Scenes from Tebaldeo's Eclogues |publisher=National Gallery|access-date=13 May 2020}}</ref>

===Second World War===
{{See also|Bwlch y Slaters quarry#Second World War}}
[[File:The Evacuation of Paintings From London during the Second World War HU36302.jpg|thumb|left|Paintings being evacuated from the National Gallery during the Second World War]]

Shortly before the outbreak of the [[Second World War]] the paintings were evacuated to locations in [[Wales]], including [[Penrhyn Castle]] and the university colleges of [[Bangor University|Bangor]] and [[Aberystwyth University|Aberystwyth]].{{sfn|Bosman|2008|p=25}} In 1940, during the [[Battle of France]], a more secure home was sought, and there were discussions about moving the paintings to Canada. This idea was firmly rejected by [[Winston Churchill]], who wrote in a telegram to Kenneth Clark, "bury them in caves or in cellars, but not a picture shall leave these islands".{{sfn|MacGregor|2004|p=43}} Instead a slate quarry at [[Bwlch y Slaters quarry|Manod]], near [[Blaenau Ffestiniog]] in North Wales, was requisitioned for the gallery's use.<ref name="NG">{{cite web |title=The Gallery in wartime |url=https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/about-us/our-history/the-gallery-in-wartime |website=The National Gallery |access-date=11 November 2023}}</ref> In the seclusion afforded by the paintings' new location, the Keeper (and future director) [[Martin Davies (museum director)|Martin Davies]] began to compile scholarly catalogues on the collection, with assistance of the gallery's library which was also stored in the quarry. The move to Manod confirmed the importance of storing paintings at a constant temperature and humidity, something the gallery's conservators had long suspected but had hitherto been unable to prove.{{sfn|Bosman|2008|p=79}} This eventually resulted in the first air-conditioned gallery opening in 1949.<ref name="BakerHenry" />

For the course of the war [[Myra Hess]] and other musicians, such as [[Moura Lympany]], gave daily lunch-time recitals in the empty building in Trafalgar Square, to raise public morale as every concert hall in London was closed.<ref name="NG-Hess">{{cite web |title=The Myra Hess concerts |url=https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/about-us/history/the-myra-hess-concerts |website=The National Gallery-History |publisher=The National Gallery |access-date=11 November 2023}}</ref>{{sfn|Bosman|2008|p=35}} Art exhibitions were held at the gallery as a complement to the recitals. The first of these was ''British Painting since Whistler'' in 1940, organised by [[Lillian Browse]],<ref name=farr>Farr, Dennis (2006). [http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/newsletter/spring_2006/p04browse.shtml "Empathy for Art and Artists: Lillian Browse, 1906–2005"]. ''Newsletter'' of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Issue 21: Spring 2006. Accessed March 2012. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007045136/http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/newsletter/spring_2006/p04browse.shtml |date=7 October 2013}}</ref> who also mounted the major joint retrospective ''Exhibition of Paintings by Sir [[William Nicholson (artist)|William Nicholson]] and [[Jack B. Yeats]]'' held from 1 January to 15 March 1942, which was seen by 10,518 visitors.<ref name=1942cat>Clark, Sir Kenneth (1942). ''Exhibition of Paintings by Sir William Nicholson and Jack B. Yeats'', exhibition catalogue. London: National Gallery.</ref><ref name=reed>Reed, Patricia (2011). ''William Nicholson: Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings''. London; New Haven: Modern Art Press, Yale University Press. {{ISBN|978 0 300 17054 2}}. pp. 636–638</ref> Exhibitions of work by war artists, including [[Paul Nash (artist)|Paul Nash]], [[Henry Moore]] and [[Stanley Spencer]], were also held; the [[War Artists' Advisory Committee]] had been set up by Clark in order "to keep artists at work on any pretext".{{sfn|Bosman|2008|pp=91–93}} In 1941, a request from an artist to see [[Rembrandt]]'s ''Portrait of Margaretha de Geer'' (a new acquisition) resulted in the "Picture of the Month" scheme, in which a single painting was removed from Manod and exhibited to the general public in the National Gallery each month. The art critic [[Herbert Read]], writing that year, called the National Gallery "a defiant outpost of culture right in the middle of a bombed and shattered metropolis".{{sfn|Bosman|2008|p=99}} The paintings returned to Trafalgar Square in 1945.

===Post-war developments===
The last major outcry against the use of radical conservation techniques at the National Gallery was in the immediate post-war years, following a restoration campaign by the gallery's chief restorer [[Helmut Ruhemann]] while the paintings were in Manod Quarry. When the cleaned pictures were exhibited to the public in 1946 there followed a furore with parallels to that of a century earlier. The principal criticism was that the extensive removal of [[varnish]], which was used in the 19th century to protect the surface of paintings but which darkened and discoloured over time, may have resulted in the loss of "harmonising" glazes added to the paintings by the artists themselves. The opposition to Ruhemann's techniques was led by [[Ernst Gombrich]], a professor at the [[Warburg Institute]] who in later correspondence with a restorer described being treated with "offensive superciliousness" by the National Gallery.{{sfn|Walden|2004|p=176}} A 1947 commission concluded that no damage had been done in the recent cleanings.

[[File:Leonardo da Vinci - Virgin and Child with Ss Anne and John the Baptist.jpg|thumb|right|upright|''[[The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist]]'' by [[Leonardo da Vinci]]]]

In the post-war years, acquisitions have become increasingly difficult for the National Gallery as the prices for Old Masters – and even more so for the Impressionists and [[Post-Impressionism|Post-Impressionists]] – have risen beyond its means. Some of the gallery's most significant purchases in this period would have been impossible without the major public appeals backing them, including [[Leonardo da Vinci]]'s cartoon of ''[[The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist]]'' (bought in 1962) and [[Titian]]'s ''[[Death of Actaeon]]'' (bought in 1972). The gallery's purchase grant from the government was frozen in 1985, but later that year it received an endowment of £50&nbsp;million from Sir [[Paul Getty]], enabling many major purchases to be made.<ref name="BakerHenry"/> In April 1985 [[John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover|Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover]] and his brothers, [[Simon Sainsbury]] and Sir [[Timothy Sainsbury]], had made a donation that would enable the construction of the Sainsbury Wing.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=429}}

The directorship of [[Neil MacGregor]] saw a major rehang at the gallery, dispensing with the classification of paintings by national school that had been introduced by Eastlake. The new chronological hang sought to emphasise the interaction between cultures rather than fixed national characteristics, reflecting the change in art-historical values since the 19th century.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=435}} In other respects, however, Victorian tastes were rehabilitated: the building's interiors were no longer considered an embarrassment and were restored, and in 1999 the gallery accepted a bequest of 26 [[Italian Baroque]] paintings from Sir [[Denis Mahon]]. Earlier in the 20th century many considered the Baroque to be beyond the pale: in 1945 the gallery's trustees declined to buy a [[Guercino]] from Mahon's collection for £200. The same painting was valued at £4&nbsp;million in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cronaca.com/archives/000503.html |title=Sir Denis Mahon |publisher=Cronaca |date=23 February 2003 |access-date=8 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207042707/http://www.cronaca.com/archives/000503.html |archive-date=7 December 2008}}</ref> Mahon's bequest was made on the condition that the gallery would never [[Collection (museum)#Deaccessioning|deaccession]] any of its paintings or charge for admission.{{sfn|Gaskell|2000|pp=179–182}}

The respective remits of the National and Tate Galleries, which had long been contested by the two institutions, were more clearly defined in 1996. 1900 was established as the cut-off point for paintings in the National Gallery, and in 1997 more than 60 post-1900 paintings from the collection were given to the Tate on a long-term loan, in return for works by [[Paul Gauguin|Gauguin]] and others. However, future expansion of the National Gallery may yet see the return of 20th-century paintings to its walls.<ref>{{cite news|first=Martin |last=Bailey |title=National Gallery may start acquiring 20th-century art |newspaper=[[The Art Newspaper]] |date=2 November 2005 |url=http://www.theartnewspaper.com/article01.asp?id=55 |access-date=14 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928015437/http://www.theartnewspaper.com/article01.asp?id=55 |archive-date=28 September 2007}}</ref>

===21st century===

{{multiple image |direction = vertical |width = 220
|align=left
|image1=Titian - Diana and Actaeon - Google Art Project.jpg
|alt1=Painting of a man happening upon a group of nude women, bathing in a grotto-like space.
|caption1=[[Titian]]'s ''[[Diana and Actaeon (Titian)|Diana and Actaeon]]'', bought in 2008, jointly with the [[National Gallery of Scotland]]
|image2=Tizian 015 (2).jpg
|alt2=Painting of two groups of mostly nude women; on the right, the goddess Diana points accusingly at a woman in the left group who lies on the floor in a state of distress.
|caption2=Titian's ''[[Diana and Callisto]]'', bought in 2012, jointly with the National Gallery of Scotland
}}

In the 21st century there have been three large fundraising campaigns at the gallery: in 2004, to buy [[Raphael]]'s ''[[Madonna of the Pinks]]''; in 2008, for [[Titian]]'s ''[[Diana and Actaeon (Titian)|Diana and Actaeon]]''; and in 2012, Titian's ''[[Diana and Callisto]]''. Both Titians were bought in tandem with the [[National Gallery of Scotland]] for £95&nbsp;m. Both of these major works were sold from the [[Bridgewater Loan|collection of the Duke of Sutherland]]. The National Gallery is now largely priced out of the market for Old Master paintings and can only make such acquisitions with the backing of major public appeals; the departing director [[Charles Saumarez Smith]] expressed his frustration at this situation in 2007.<ref name=gayford>{{cite news |first=Martin |last=Gayford |title=Wanted – National Gallery Chief to Muster Cash |newspaper=Bloomberg |date=23 April 2007 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=alG6uNHZGr3M&refer=muse |access-date=21 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081019212913/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088 |archive-date=19 October 2008}}</ref>

The National Gallery was sponsored by the Italian arms manufacturer [[Finmeccanica]] between October 2011 and October 2012. The sponsorship deal allowed the company to use gallery spaces for gatherings, and the gallery was used to host delegates during the [[DSEI]] arms fair and the [[Farnborough Airshow]]. The sponsorship deal was ended a year early after protests.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/oct/10/arms-manufacturer-national-gallery-sponsorship|title=Arms manufacturer halts National Gallery sponsorship after protests|last=Malik|first=Shiv|date=10 October 2012|work=The Guardian|access-date=16 February 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In February 2014, the gallery purchased ''[[Men of the Docks]]'' by the American artist [[George Bellows]] for $25.5&nbsp;million (£15.6&nbsp;million). It was the first major American painting to be purchased by the gallery. The director, [[Nicholas Penny]], termed the painting a new direction for the gallery, a non-European painting in a European style. Its sale was controversial in the United States.<ref>Jaschik, Scott (12 February 2014). "Randolph sale of art to National Gallery sparks criticism". Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.</ref>

In 2018, the National Gallery was one of the first public galleries in London to charge more than £20 for admission to a special exhibition, the exhibition in question being of works by [[Claude Monet]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/apr/06/national-gallerys-22-ticket-revives-debate-exhibition-prices|title=National Gallery's £22 ticket revives debate over exhibition prices|last=Khomami|first=Nadia|date=6 April 2018|work=The Guardian|access-date=16 December 2018|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In February 2019, an [[employment tribunal]] ruled that the gallery had incorrectly classed its team of educators as self-employed contractors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions/ms-a-braine-and-others-v-the-national-gallery-2201625-2018|title=Ms A Braine and others v The National Gallery: 2201625/2018|website=GOV.UK}}</ref> The educators were awarded the status of "workers" following legal action brought by 27 claimants. The case received considerable press and media coverage.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-47409755|title=National Gallery group win workers' rights|date=1 March 2019|work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/mar/01/national-gallery-lecturers-win-right-to-be-recognised-as-workers|title=National Gallery lecturers win right to be recognised as workers|first=Owen|last=Bowcott|date=1 March 2019|work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.globallegalpost.com/big-stories/no-artful-dodge-for-uk-national-gallery-at-gig-tribunal-68666911/|title=No artful dodge for UK National Gallery at gig tribunal|website=globallegalpost.com}}</ref>

In 2024, the National Gallery celebrated its 200th anniversary with a range of programmes, events, and collaborations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NG200 |url=https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/about-us/ng200-programme |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=www.nationalgallery.org.uk}}</ref>

In September 2025, the National Gallery announced plans for a £375 million expansion project, provisionally titled 'Project Domani'. The initiative includes the construction of a new wing behind the existing Sainsbury Wing and a policy change allowing the acquisition of works created after 1900. The expansion is scheduled to open in the early 2030s.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/sep/09/national-gallery-lifts-ban-post-1900-paintings-375m-investment The Guardian – “National Gallery to build £375m new wing and lift ban on post-1900 art”] (retrieved 9 September 2025)</ref>

==Architecture==
===William Wilkins's building===
{{Infobox historic site
| name = 
| image = William Wilkins's building.JPG
| image_size = 250px
| caption = The Wilkins Building, with the church of [[St&nbsp;Martin-in-the-Fields]] to the right
| built = 1832–1838
| architect = William Wilkins
| architecture = [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]]
| designation1 = Grade I
| designation1_offname = National Gallery
| designation1_date = 5 February 1970
| designation1_number = 1066236<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1066236|desc=National Gallery|access-date= 11 November 2013}}</ref>
}}

The first suggestion for a National Gallery on Trafalgar Square came from [[John Nash (architect)|John Nash]], who envisaged it on the site of the [[Royal Mews#At Charing Cross|King's Mews]], while a [[Parthenon]]-like building for the [[Royal Academy]] would occupy the centre of the square.{{sfn|Liscombe|1980|pp=180–182}} Economic recession prevented this scheme from being built, but a competition for the Mews site was eventually held in 1831, for which Nash submitted a design with [[Charles Robert Cockerell]] as his co-architect. Nash's popularity was waning by this time, however, and the commission was awarded to [[William Wilkins (architect)|William Wilkins]], who was involved in the selection of the site and submitted some drawings at the last moment.{{sfn|Summerson|1962|pp=208–209}} Wilkins had hoped to build a "Temple of the Arts, nurturing contemporary art through historical example",<ref>''Grove Dictionary of Art'', Vol. 33, p. 192.</ref> but the commission was blighted by parsimony and compromise, and the resulting building, which opened to the public on 9 April 1838,{{sfn|Smith|2009|p=49}} was deemed a failure on almost all counts.

The site only allowed for the building to be one room deep, as a workhouse and a barracks lay immediately behind.{{NoteTag|St Martin's Workhouse (to the east) was cleared for the construction of [[E. M. Barry]]'s extension, whereas [[St George's Barracks, London|St George's Barracks]] stayed until 1911, supposedly because of the need for troops to be at hand to quell disturbances in Trafalgar Square. ({{Harvnb|Conlin|2006|p=401}}) Wilkins had hoped for more land to the south, but was denied it as building there would have obscured the view of [[St Martin-in-the-Fields]].}} To exacerbate matters, there was a public right of way through the site to these buildings, which accounts for the access porticoes on the eastern and western sides of the façade. These had to incorporate columns from the demolished [[Carlton House, London|Carlton House]], and their relative shortness resulted in an elevation that was deemed excessively low, thus failing to provide Trafalgar Square with its desired commanding focal point to the north. Also recycled are the sculptures on the façade, originally intended for Nash's [[Marble Arch]] but abandoned due to his financial problems.{{NoteTag|They are as follows: above the main entrance, a blank roundel (originally to feature the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]]'s face) flanked by two female figures (personifications of Europe and Asia/India, sites of his campaigns) and high up on the eastern façade, [[Minerva]] by [[John Flaxman]], originally [[Britannia]].}} The eastern half of the building housed the Royal Academy until 1868, which further diminished the space afforded to the National Gallery.

The building was the object of public ridicule before it had even been completed, as a version of the design had been leaked to ''[[The Literary Gazette]]'' in 1833.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=60}} Two years before completion, its infamous "pepperpot" elevation appeared on the frontispiece of ''Contrasts'' (1836), an influential tract by the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothicist]] [[Augustus Pugin]], as an example of the degeneracy of the classical style.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=367}} Even [[William IV]] (in his last recorded utterance) thought the building a "nasty little pokey hole",{{sfn|Smith|2009|p=50}} while [[William Makepeace Thackeray]] called it "a little gin shop of a building".{{sfn|Smith|2009|p=50}} The twentieth-century architectural historian Sir [[John Summerson]] echoed these early criticisms when he compared the arrangement of a [[dome]] and two diminutive [[Turret (architecture)|turret]]s on the roofline to "the clock and vases on a mantelpiece, only less useful".{{sfn|Summerson|1962|pp=208–209}}{{NoteTag|Summerson's "mantelpiece" comparison inspired the title of Conlin's 2006 history of the National Gallery, ''The Nation's Mantelpiece'' (op. cit.).}} Sir [[Charles Barry]]'s landscaping of Trafalgar Square, from 1840, included a north terrace so that the building would appear to be raised, thus addressing one of the points of complaint.<ref name="Survey" /> Opinion on the building had mellowed considerably by 1984, when [[Charles III|Prince Charles]] called the Wilkins façade a "much-loved and elegant friend", in contrast to a proposed extension. (''[[#Sainsbury Wing and later additions|See below]]'')

<gallery mode="packed" heights="175">
National Gallery London 2013 March.jpg|The elevation onto Trafalgar Square in 2013
National Gallery1836.jpg|The ''[[piano nobile]]'' and ground floor of Wilkins's building, before expansion. Note the passageways behind the east and west porticoes. Areas shaded in pink were used by the Royal Academy until 1868.
National Gallery 1st floor plan.svg|Plan of the first floor of the National Gallery in 2013
</gallery>

===Alteration and expansion (Pennethorne, Barry and Taylor)===
The first significant alteration made to the building was the single, long gallery added by Sir [[James Pennethorne]] in 1860–1861. Ornately decorated in comparison with the rooms by Wilkins, it nonetheless worsened the cramped conditions inside the building as it was built over the original entrance hall.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|pp=384–385}} Unsurprisingly, several attempts were made either to completely remodel the National Gallery (as suggested by Sir Charles Barry in 1853), or to move it to more capacious premises in [[Kensington]], where the air was also cleaner. In 1867 Barry's son [[Edward Middleton Barry]] proposed to replace the Wilkins building with a massive classical building with four domes. The scheme was a failure and contemporary critics denounced the exterior as "a strong plagiarism upon [[St Paul's Cathedral]]".{{sfn|Barker|Hyde|1982|pp=116–117}}

With the demolition of the workhouse, however, Barry was able to build the gallery's first sequence of grand architectural spaces, from 1872 to 1876. Built to a polychrome [[Neo-Renaissance]] design, the Barry Rooms were arranged on a [[Greek cross]] plan around a huge central octagon. Though it compensated for the underwhelming architecture of the Wilkins building, Barry's new wing was disliked by Gallery staff, who considered its monumental aspect to be in conflict with its function as exhibition space. Also, the decorative programme of the rooms did not take their intended contents into account; the ceiling of the 15th- and 16th-century Italian gallery, for instance, was inscribed with the names of British artists of the 19th century.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=396}} However, despite these failures, the Barry Rooms provided the gallery with a strong axial groundplan; this was to be followed by all subsequent additions to the gallery for a century, resulting in a building of clear symmetry.

Pennethorne's gallery was demolished for the next phase of building, a scheme by Sir [[John Taylor (architect)|John Taylor]] extending northwards of the main entrance. Its glass-domed entrance vestibule had painted ceiling decorations by the [[John Dibblee Crace|Crace]] family firm, who had also worked on the Barry Rooms. A fresco intended for the south wall was never realised.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=399}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="175">
Galería Nacional, Londres, Inglaterra, 2014-08-11, DD 178.JPG|The Barry Rooms (1872–1876), designed by E.&nbsp;M.&nbsp;Barry
Bóveda de la sala 36, Galería Nacional, Londres, Inglaterra, 2014-08-11, DD 165-167 HDR.JPG|The dome of Room 34, the central octagon of the Barry Rooms
Staircase hall of the National Gallery, London.jpg|The Staircase Hall (1884–1887), designed by Sir John Taylor, in a photograph of 2007. To the left is ''[[Cimabue's Celebrated Madonna]]'' by [[Frederic, Lord Leighton]] (a loan from the [[Royal Collection]] since the 1990s).{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=399}}
Central Hall, National Gallery.jpg|The Central Hall, part of Sir John Taylor's additions
</gallery>

===20th century: modernisation versus restoration===
[[File:Boris Anrep mosaic, The National Gallery - The Awakening of the Muses.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[Boris Anrep#National Gallery mosaics (1928–1952)|The Awakening of the Muses]]'' (1933), a mosaic by Boris Anrep]]

Later additions to the west came more steadily but maintained the coherence of the building by mirroring Barry's cross-axis plan to the east. The use of dark marble for doorcases was also continued, giving the extensions a degree of internal consistency with the older rooms. The classical style was still in use at the National Gallery in 1929, when a [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]]–style gallery was built, funded by the art dealer and trustee [[Joseph Duveen, 1st Baron Duveen of Millbank|Lord Duveen]]. However, it was not long before the 20th-century reaction against Victorian attitudes became manifest at the gallery. From 1928 to 1952, the landing floors of Taylor's entrance hall were relaid with a new series of [[mosaic]]s by [[Boris Anrep]], who was friendly with the [[Bloomsbury Group]]. These mosaics can be read as a satire on 19th-century conventions for the decoration of public buildings, as typified by the [[Albert Memorial]]'s ''[[Frieze of Parnassus]]''.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|pp=404–405}} The central mosaic depicting ''The Awakening of the Muses'' includes portraits of [[Virginia Woolf]] and [[Greta Garbo]], subverting the high moral tone of its Victorian forebears. In place of Christianity's [[seven virtues]], Anrep offered his own set of ''Modern Virtues'', including "Humour" and "Open Mind"; the allegorical figures are again portraits of his contemporaries, including Winston Churchill, [[Bertrand Russell]] and [[T. S. Eliot]].{{sfn|Oliver|2004|p=54}}

In the 20th century, the gallery's late Victorian interiors fell out of fashion.<ref>See for example National Gallery (corporate author) (1974). ''The Working of the National Gallery''. London: National Gallery Publishing, p. 8: "the National Gallery has suffered from the visual pretentiousness of its 19th century buildings". The modernist North Galleries opened the following year.</ref> The Crace ceiling decorations in the entrance hall were not to the taste of the director [[Charles Holmes]], and were obliterated by white paint.<ref name=Jury2007>They were restored only in 2005. {{cite news |first=Louise |last=Jury |title=A Victorian masterpiece emerges from beneath the whitewash |work=The Independent |date=14 June 2004 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20040614/ai_n12791111 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016152941/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20040614/ai_n12791111 |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=14 October 2007}}</ref>
The North Galleries, which opened to the public in 1975, marked the arrival of [[modern architecture|modernist architecture]] at the National Gallery. In the older rooms, the original classical details were effaced by partitions, daises and suspended ceilings, the aim being to create neutral settings which did not distract from contemplation of the paintings. But the gallery's commitment to modernism was short-lived: by the 1980s Victorian style was no longer considered anathema, and a restoration programme began to restore the 19th- and early 20th-century interiors to their purported original appearance. This began with the refurbishment of the Barry Rooms in 1985–1986. From 1996 to 1999 even the North Galleries, by then considered to "lack a positive architectural character", were remodelled in a classical style, albeit a simplified one.{{sfn|Gaskell|2000|pp=179–182}}

===Sainsbury Wing and later additions===
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Sainsbury Wing
| image = National Gallery London Sainsbury Wing 2006-04-17.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = The Sainsbury Wing, as built, seen from Trafalgar Square
| built = 1988–1991
| architect = Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Associates
| architecture = [[Postmodern architecture|Postmodernist]]
| designation1 = Grade I
| designation1_offname = Sainsbury Wing at the National&nbsp;Gallery
| designation1_date = 9 May 2018
| designation1_number = 1451082<ref name="NHLE Sainsbury Wing">{{National Heritage List for England |num=1451082|desc=Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery |access-date=11 May 2018 |fewer-links=x}}</ref>
}}

The most important addition to the building in the late 20th century was the Sainsbury Wing, designed by the postmodernist architects [[Robert Venturi]] and [[Denise Scott Brown]] to house the collection of Renaissance paintings and built in 1991. The building occupies the "Hampton's site" to the west of the main building, where a department store of the same name had stood until its destruction in [[the Blitz]]. The gallery had long sought expansion into this space{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} and in 1982 a competition was held to find a suitable architect; the shortlist included a radical [[High-tech architecture|high-tech]] proposal by [[Richard Rogers]], among others. The design that won the most votes was by the firm [[Ahrends, Burton and Koralek]], who then modified their proposal to include a tower, similar to that of the Rogers scheme. The proposal was dropped after the [[Charles III|Prince of Wales]] compared the design to a "monstrous [[carbuncle]] on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speechesandarticles/a_speech_by_hrh_the_prince_of_wales_at_the_150th_anniversary_1876801621.html |title=A speech by HRH The Prince of Wales at the 150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Royal Gala Evening at Hampton Court Palace |access-date=16 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213205/http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speechesandarticles/a_speech_by_hrh_the_prince_of_wales_at_the_150th_anniversary_1876801621.html |archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref> The term "monstrous carbuncle", for a modern building that clashes with its surroundings, has since become commonplace.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4285069.stm |title=Prince's new architecture blast |access-date=16 June 2007 |date=21 February 2005 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/1162818.stm |title=No cash for 'highest slum' |access-date=16 June 2007 |date=9 February 2001 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

One of the conditions of the 1982 competition was that the new wing had to include commercial offices as well as public gallery space. However, in 1985 it became possible to devote the extension entirely to the gallery's uses, due to a donation of almost £50&nbsp;million from [[John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover|Lord Sainsbury]] and his brothers [[Simon Sainsbury|Simon]] and Sir [[Tim Sainsbury]]. A closed competition was held, and the schemes produced were noticeably more restrained than in the earlier competition.

[[File:Galería Nacional, Londres, Inglaterra, 2014-08-11, DD 173.JPG|thumb|left|The main [[enfilade (architecture)|enfilade]] of the Sainsbury Wing]]

In contrast with the rich ornamentation of the main building, the galleries in the Sainsbury Wing are pared down and intimate, to suit the smaller scale of many of the paintings.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} The main inspirations for these rooms are Sir [[John Soane]]'s toplit galleries for the [[Dulwich Picture Gallery]] and the church interiors of [[Filippo Brunelleschi]]. (The stone dressing is in [[pietra serena]], the grey stone local to Florence.)<ref>{{Cite web|date=3 October 2018|title=AD Classics: Sainsbury Wing, National Gallery London / Venturi Scott Brown|url=https://www.archdaily.com/781839/ad-classics-sainsbury-wing-national-gallery-london-venturi-scott-brown|access-date=26 January 2021|website=ArchDaily|language=en-US}}</ref> The northernmost galleries align with Barry's central axis, so that there is a single vista down the whole length of the gallery. This axis is exaggerated by the use of [[false perspective]], as the columns flanking each opening gradually diminish in size until the visitor reaches the focal point (as of 2009), an altarpiece by [[Cima da Conegliano|Cima]] of ''The Incredulity of Saint Thomas''.{{needs update|date=March 2024}} Venturi's postmodernist approach to architecture is in full evidence at the Sainsbury Wing, with its stylistic quotations from buildings as disparate as the clubhouses on Pall Mall, the [[Scala Regia (Vatican)|Scala Regia]] in the Vatican, Victorian warehouses and Ancient Egyptian temples.

Following the pedestrianisation of Trafalgar Square, the gallery is currently{{when|date=April 2024}} engaged in a masterplan to convert the vacated office space on the ground floor into public space. The plan will also fill in disused courtyards and make use of land acquired from the adjoining [[National Portrait Gallery (London)|National Portrait Gallery]] in St Martin's Place, which it gave to the National Gallery in exchange for land for its 2000 extension. The first phase, the East Wing Project designed by Jeremy Dixon and [[Edward Jones (English architect)|Edward Jones]], opened to the public in 2004. This provided a new ground level entrance from Trafalgar Square, named in honour of Sir [[Paul Getty]]. The main entrance was also refurbished, and reopened in September 2005. Possible future projects include a "West Wing Project" roughly symmetrical with the East Wing Project, which would provide a future ground level entrance, and the public opening of some small rooms at the far eastern end of the building acquired as part of the swap with the National Portrait Gallery. This might include a new public staircase in the bow on the eastern façade. No timetable has been announced for these additional projects.{{needs update|date=March 2024}}

====Renovation of the Sainsbury Wing====
In April 2021, a jury short-listed six firms of architects – [[Caruso St John]], [[David Chipperfield]] Architects, Asif Kahn, [[David Kohn (architect)|David Kohn Architects]], [[Annabelle Selldorf|Selldorf Architects]], and Witherford Watson Mann Architects – in a competition for design proposals to upgrade the Sainsbury Wing.<ref>Matt Hickman (8 April 2021), [https://www.archpaper.com/2021/04/selldorf-architects-among-six-shortlisted-firms-for-national-gallery-revamp-in-london/ Selldorf Architects among six shortlisted firms for National Gallery revamp in London] ''[[The Architect's Newspaper]]''.</ref>

A letter written in 1990 by one of the donors, [[John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover|John Sainsbury]], was discovered in 2023 during the demolition of two false columns in which he argued that "the false columns are a mistake of the architect and that we would live to regret our accepting this detail of his design."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harold |first=Pia |date=28 August 2024 |title=National Gallery column-hating letter by donor 'a compromise' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4ye33e9vpo |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-27 |title=Sainsbury Wing contractors find 1990 letter from donor anticipating their demolition of false columns |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/08/27/sainsbury-wing-contractors-find-1990-letter-from-donor-anticipating-their-demolition-of-false-columns |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=The Art Newspaper - International art news and events}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=John Sainsbury, a donor to the National Gallery, had the last laugh |url=https://www.economist.com/culture/2024/08/28/john-sainsbury-a-donor-to-the-national-gallery-had-the-last-laugh |access-date=2024-09-08 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>

In 2024, excavations for the Sainsbury Wing extension at Jubilee Walk uncovered evidence that the Anglo-Saxon settlement of [[Lundenwic]] extended further to the west than had previously been supposed.<ref>{{citation|mode=cs1|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/excavation-reveals-ancient-town-beneath-londons-national-gallery-2434742|title=Excavation Reveals Ancient Town Beneath London's National Gallery|date=18 February 2024|website=Artnet|access-date=11 March 2024}}</ref>

=== St Vincent House extension ===
In September 2025, the National Gallery announced plans to open a new wing, north of the Sainsbury Wing, between Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Durrant |first=Nancy |date=2025-09-08 |title=Revealed: the National Gallery announces new wing and move into modern art |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/art/article/revealed-the-national-gallery-announces-new-wing-and-move-into-modern-art-67ctw8lns |access-date=2025-09-09 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Martin |date=2025-09-08 |title=London's National Gallery receives record-breaking donations for new wing—and will start collecting contemporary art |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/09/09/london-national-gallery-receives-record-breaking-donations-for-new-wing-and-will-start-collecting-contemporary-art |access-date=2025-09-09 |website=The Art Newspaper - International art news and events |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-09-08 |title=Britain's National Gallery Expands Collection to 20th-Century Works |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/arts/design/national-gallery-20th-century.html |access-date=2025-09-09 |language=en}}</ref> The new site will be formed from St Vincent House, a 1960s building that was acquired by the charity in the late 1990s.<ref name=":0" /> Plans for the extension was commissioned in 2018 and announced on 9 September 2025 with a funding commitment of £375 million, which includes two, separate £150 million donations by the Crankstart Foundation and the Julia Rausing Trust.<ref name=":0" /> To design and develop the extension, the National Gallery opened an architectural competition, which will run to 17 October 2025 with the shortlist announced on 28 November 2025.<ref name=":1" /> The charity said it will announce the winner of that competition in April 2026.<ref name=":1" /> The extension will open in early 2030s and have space to present 250 additional paintings.<ref name=":0" />

==Incidents==
In the National Gallery on 10 March 1914, Velázquez's ''[[Rokeby Venus]]'' was damaged by [[Mary Richardson]], a campaigner for [[Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom|women's suffrage]], in protest against the arrest of [[Emmeline Pankhurst]] the previous day. Later that month another [[suffragette]] attacked five [[Giovanni Bellini|Bellinis]], causing the gallery to close until the start of the [[First World War]], when the [[Women's Social and Political Union]] called for an end to violent acts drawing attention to their plight.{{sfn|Spalding|1998|p=39}}

[[File:Francisco Goya - Portrait of the Duke of Wellington.jpg|thumb|right|upright|''[[Portrait of the Duke of Wellington (Goya)|Portrait of the Duke of Wellington]]'' by [[Francisco Goya]]]]

In August 1961 an unemployed bus driver, [[Kempton Bunton]], stole [[Francisco Goya|Goya]]'s ''[[Portrait of the Duke of Wellington (Goya)|Portrait of the Duke of Wellington]]'', in what remains the only successful theft from the gallery.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Iqbal|first1=Nosheen|last2=Jonze|first2=Tim|date=22 January 2020|title=In pictures: The greatest art heists in history|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2009/feb/19/greatest-art-heists-in-pictures|access-date=17 April 2021|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Four years later, Bunton returned the painting voluntarily. Following a high-profile trial, he was found not guilty of stealing the painting, but guilty of stealing the frame.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37657545|work=[[BBC News]]|title=The QC, Lady Chatterley and nude Romans|first=Nick|last=Serpell|date=14 November 2017}}</ref>

In July 1987, a man entered the gallery armed with a shotgun concealed under his coat and shot Leonardo's cartoon of ''[[The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist]]''. The man, Robert Cambridge, told police that his intent had been to express his disgust with "political, social and economic conditions in Britain". Though the pellets did not penetrate the cartoon, it had to undergo extensive restoration. It was placed back on display the following year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/08/arts/restoring-a-leonardo-drawing-that-was-hit-by-a-shotgun-blast.html|title=Restoring a Leonardo Drawing That Was Hit by a Shotgun Blast|date=8 November 1988|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

[[Vincent van Gogh]]'s ''[[Sunflowers (Van Gogh series)|Sunflowers]]'' was attacked at the gallery on 14 October 2022 by environmental activists from the [[Just Stop Oil]] campaign, who threw [[tomato soup]] at it.<ref name="Harris 2022">{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Gareth |title=Van Gogh's Sunflowers covered in tomato soup by eco activists |website=The Art Newspaper |date=14 October 2022 |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/10/14/van-goghs-sunflowers-covered-in-tomato-soup-by-eco-activists |access-date=14 October 2022}}</ref> Due to the protection of the [[Poly(methyl methacrylate)|plexiglass]], the painting was not harmed, but there was some minor damage to the frame, according to a spokesperson for the gallery.<ref name="Harris 2022"/> 

On 6 November 2023, the ''Rokeby Venus'' was again attacked, by two [[Just Stop Oil]] activists who smashed its protective glass with hammers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Holl-Allen |first=Genevieve |date=6 November 2023 |title=Just Stop Oil protesters smash National Gallery painting |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/06/just-stop-oil-protest-national-gallery-painting/ |access-date=6 November 2023 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=6 November 2023 |title=Just Stop Oil protesters smash National Gallery painting |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/just-stop-oil-national-gallery-painting-b2442404.html |access-date=6 November 2023 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>

==List of directors==
{| class="wikitable sortable" width="auto"
|-
|+Directors<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/about-us/history/directors |title=Directors |publisher=The National Gallery |access-date=17 August 2020}}</ref>{{NoteTag|The role of director was created in 1855, 31 years after the gallery's founding.}}
|-
!Name
!Tenure
|-
|Sir [[Charles Lock Eastlake]]||1855–1865
|-
|Sir [[William Boxall]]||1866–1874
|-
|Sir [[Frederic William Burton]]||1874–1894
|-
|Sir [[Edward Poynter]]||1894–1904
|-
|Sir [[Charles Holroyd]]||1906–1916
|-
|Sir [[Charles Holmes]]||1916–1928
|-
|Sir [[Augustus Daniel]]||1929–1933
|-
|Sir [[Kenneth Clark]]||1934–1945
|-
|Sir [[Philip Hendy]]||1946–1967
|-
|Sir [[Martin Davies (museum director)|Martin Davies]]||1968–1973
|-
|Sir [[Michael Levey]]||1973–1986
|-
|[[Neil MacGregor]]||1987–2002
|-
|Sir [[Charles Saumarez Smith]]||2002–2007
|-
|Sir [[Nicholas Penny]]||2008–2015
|-
|Sir [[Gabriele Finaldi]]||2015–present
|}

== Collection highlights ==
<!-- To be included on this list an artwork must have its own article on Wikipedia. Artists are listed chronologically, and the works for each artist alphabetically. -->
{{Main list|Catalogue of paintings in the National Gallery, London}}

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Cimabue]]: ''[[Virgin and Child with Two Angels (Cimabue)|Virgin and Child with Two Angels]]''
* [[Giotto]]: ''[[Life of Christ (Giotto)|Pentecost]]''
* English or French Medieval: ''[[Wilton Diptych]]''
* [[Jan van Eyck]]: ''[[Arnolfini Portrait]]'', ''[[Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?)|Portrait of a Man (Self-Portrait?)]]''
* [[Pisanello]]: ''[[The Vision of Saint Eustace]]''
* [[Paolo Uccello]]: ''[[The Battle of San Romano]]'', ''[[Saint George and the Dragon (Uccello)|Saint George and the Dragon]]''
* [[Rogier van der Weyden]]: ''[[The Magdalen Reading]]''
* [[Masaccio]]: ''[[Madonna and Child (Masaccio)|Madonna and Child]]''
* [[Dieric Bouts]]: ''[[The Entombment (Bouts)|The Entombment]]''
* [[Piero della Francesca]]: ''[[The Baptism of Christ (Piero della Francesca)|The Baptism of Christ]]''
* [[Antonello da Messina]]: ''[[Portrait of a Man (Antonello da Messina, London)|Portrait of a Man]]'', ''[[Saint Jerome in His Study (Antonello da Messina)|Saint Jerome in his Study]]''
* [[Giovanni Bellini]]: ''[[Agony in the Garden (Bellini)|Agony in the Garden]]'', ''[[Madonna del Prato (Bellini)|Madonna del Prato]]'', ''[[Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan]]''
* [[Antonio del Pollaiuolo|Antonio]] and [[Piero del Pollaiuolo]]: ''[[Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian (Pollaiuolo)|Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian]]''
* [[Sandro Botticelli]]: ''[[The Mystical Nativity (Botticelli)|The Mystical Nativity]]'', ''[[Venus and Mars (Botticelli)|Venus and Mars]]''
* [[Hieronymus Bosch]]: ''[[Christ Crowned with Thorns (Bosch, London)|Christ Crowned with Thorns]]''
* [[Leonardo da Vinci]]: ''[[The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist]]'', ''[[Virgin of the Rocks]]''
* [[Albrecht Dürer]]: ''[[Saint Jerome in the Wilderness (Dürer)|Saint Jerome in the Wilderness]]''
* [[Michelangelo]]: ''[[The Entombment (Michelangelo)|The Entombment]]'', ''[[Manchester Madonna|The Manchester Madonna]]''
* [[Jan Mabuse|Jan Gossaert]]: ''[[Adoration of the Kings (Gossaert)|Adoration of the Kings]]''
* [[Raphael]]: ''[[Ansidei Madonna]]'', ''[[Garvagh Madonna]]'', ''[[Madonna of the Pinks|The Madonna of the Pinks]]'', ''[[Portrait of Pope Julius II (Raphael)|Portrait of Pope Julius II]]'', ''[[Mond Crucifixion]]'', ''[[Vision of a Knight (Raphael)|Vision of a Knight]]''
* [[Titian]]: ''[[Aldobrandini Madonna (Titian)|Aldobrandini Madonna]]'', ''[[Allegory of Prudence]]'', ''[[Bacchus and Ariadne]]'', ''[[Diana and Actaeon (Titian)|Diana and Actaeon]]'', ''[[Diana and Callisto]]'', ''[[The Death of Actaeon]]'', ''[[A Man with a Quilted Sleeve]]'', ''[[Portrait of the Vendramin Family]]''
* [[Hans Holbein the Younger]]: ''[[The Ambassadors (Holbein)|The Ambassadors]]'', ''[[Portrait of Christina of Denmark]]''
* [[Parmigianino]]: ''[[Portrait of a Collector]]'', ''[[Vision of Saint Jerome]]''
* [[Agnolo Bronzino]]: ''[[Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time]]''
* [[Tintoretto]]: ''[[The Origin of the Milky Way (Tintoretto)|The Origin of the Milky Way]]''
* [[Pieter Bruegel the Elder]]: ''[[Adoration of the Kings (Bruegel)|Adoration of the Kings]]''
* [[Paolo Veronese]]: ''[[Adoration of the Magi (Veronese)|Adoration of the Magi]]'', ''[[The Conversion of Mary Magdalene]]'', ''[[The Family of Darius Before Alexander]]''
* [[El Greco]]: ''[[Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple (El Greco, London)|Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple]]''
* [[Caravaggio]]: ''[[Boy Bitten by a Lizard (Caravaggio)|Boy Bitten by a Lizard]]'', ''[[Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (Caravaggio, London)|Salome with the Head of John the Baptist]]'', ''[[Supper at Emmaus (London) (Caravaggio)|Supper at Emmaus]]''
* [[Peter Paul Rubens]]: ''[[The Judgement of Paris (Rubens)|The Judgement of Paris]]''
* [[Orazio Gentileschi]]: ''[[The Finding of Moses (Gentileschi)|The Finding of Moses]]''
* [[Artemisia Gentileschi]]: ''[[Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria]]''
* [[Nicolas Poussin]]: ''[[The Adoration of the Golden Calf]]''
* [[Diego Velázquez]]: ''[[Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (Velázquez)|Christ in the House of Martha and Mary]]'', ''[[Philip IV in Brown and Silver]]'', ''[[Rokeby Venus]]''
* [[Francisco de Zurbarán]]: ''[[Saint Margaret of Antioch (Zurbarán)|Saint Margaret of Antioch]]''
* [[Anthony van Dyck]]: ''[[Equestrian Portrait of Charles I]]'', ''[[Lord John Stuart and His Brother, Lord Bernard Stuart]]''
* [[Claude Lorrain]]: ''[[The Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba|Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba]]''
* [[Frans Hals]]: ''[[Young Man with a Skull]]''
* [[Rembrandt]]: ''[[Belshazzar's Feast (Rembrandt)|Belshazzar's Feast]]'', ''[[Self-Portrait at the Age of 34]]'', ''[[Self-Portrait at the Age of 63]]''
* [[Johannes Vermeer]]: ''[[Lady Seated at a Virginal]]'', ''[[Lady Standing at a Virginal]]''
* [[Meindert Hobbema]]: ''[[The Avenue at Middelharnis]]''
* [[Canaletto]]: ''[[The Stonemason's Yard]]''
* [[William Hogarth]]: ''[[The Graham Children]]'', ''[[Marriage A-la-Mode (Hogarth)|Marriage A-la-Mode]]''
* [[George Stubbs]]: ''[[Whistlejacket]]''
* [[Thomas Gainsborough]]: ''[[Mr and Mrs Andrews]]'', ''[[Mr and Mrs William Hallett|The Morning Walk]]''
* [[Joseph Wright of Derby]]: ''[[An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump]]''
* [[Francisco Goya]]: ''[[Portrait of Doña Isabel de Porcel]]'', ''[[Portrait of the Duke of Wellington (Goya)|Portrait of the Duke of Wellington]]''
* [[Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun]]: ''[[Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat]]''
* [[J. M. W. Turner]]: ''[[The Fighting Temeraire]]'', ''[[Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway]]''
* [[John Constable]]: ''[[The Cornfield]]'', ''[[The Hay Wain]]''
* [[Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres]]: ''[[Madame Moitessier]]''
* [[Eugène Delacroix]]: ''[[Ovid Among the Scythians]]''
* [[Edgar Degas]]: ''[[Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando]]'', ''[[Young Spartans Exercising]]''
* [[Paul Cézanne]]: ''[[The Bathers (Cézanne)|Les Grandes Baigneuses]]''
* [[Claude Monet]]: ''[[Gare Saint-Lazare (Monet series)|La Gare Saint-Lazare]]'', ''[[Snow at Argenteuil]]''
* [[Pierre-Auguste Renoir]]: ''[[A Nymph by a Stream]]'', ''[[The Umbrellas (Renoir painting)|The Umbrellas]]''
* [[Henri Rousseau]]: ''[[Tiger in a Tropical Storm|Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised!)]]''
* [[Vincent van Gogh]]: ''[[Sunflowers (Van Gogh series)|Sunflowers]]'', ''[[A Wheatfield with Cypresses]]''
* [[Georges Seurat]]: ''[[Bathers at Asnières]]''
{{div col end}}

{{gallery
|align=center
|height=190
|Van Eyck - Arnolfini Portrait.jpg|{{centre|[[Jan van Eyck]]<br>''[[The Arnolfini Portrait]]''}}
|Titian Bacchus and Ariadne.jpg|{{centre|[[Titian]]<br>''[[Bacchus and Ariadne]]''}}
|Hans Holbein the Younger - The Ambassadors - Google Art Project.jpg|{{centre|[[Hans Holbein the Younger]]<br>''[[The Ambassadors (Holbein)|The Ambassadors]]''}}
|John Constable The Hay Wain.jpg|{{centre|[[John Constable]]<br>''[[The Hay Wain]]''}}
|The Fighting Temeraire, JMW Turner, National Gallery.jpg|{{centre|[[J. M. W. Turner]]<br>''[[The Fighting Temeraire]]''}}
|Vincent Willem van Gogh 127.jpg|{{centre|[[Vincent van Gogh]]<br>''[[Sunflowers (Van Gogh series)|Sunflowers]]''}}
}}

==Artists in residence==

Displays of works by living artists responding to the permanent collection have been a recurring feature of the gallery's exhibitions programme since 1977, when the first of a series of annual exhibitions titled ''The Artist's Eye'' was staged.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=450}} [[Anthony Caro]], [[Lucian Freud]], [[Francis Bacon]] and [[David Hockney]] were among the artists who contributed to the series, which ran until 1990.<ref name="Holman 2024">{{citation|mode=cs1|url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/08/04/the-national-gallery-london-an-artists-gallery|title=The National Gallery, London: an artists' collection for two centuries|first=Matthew|last=Holman|date=4 August 2024|website=The Art Newspaper|access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref> In 1980 [[Maggi Hambling]] was the first artist to take up residency in the gallery for a year, in a programme which ran until 1989. It was replaced the following year by the Associate Artist Scheme, in which an artist's stay was extended to a period of up to three years; this came to an end in 2016.<ref name="NG past residencies">{{citation|mode=cs1|url=https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/residency-programmes/past-artist-residencies|title=Past artist residencies|publisher=National Gallery|access-date=4 April 2025}}</ref> In 2020 a new Artist in Residence programme was established.<ref>{{citation|mode=cs1|url=https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/residency-programmes/national-gallery-artist-in-residence|title=Artist in Residence|publisher=National Gallery|access-date=4 April 2025}}</ref>

{{columns-start|num=3}}

;Artists-in-Residence (1980–1989)
* [[Maggi Hambling]] (1980–1981)<ref>{{citation|mode=cs1|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02ctfd2|title=Maggi Hambling becomes the National Gallery's first Artist in Residence|date=26 November 2014 |publisher=BBC Arts|access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref>
* [[Jock McFadyen]] (1981–1982)
* [[Michael Porter (artist)|Michael Porter]] (1982–1983)
* [[Kevin O'Brien (artist)|Kevin O'Brien]] (1983–1984)
* [[Hughie O'Donoghue]] (1984–1985)
* [[June Redfern]] (1985–1986)
* [[Vivien Blackett]] (1986–1987)
* [[Philip Mead (artist)|Philip Mead]] (1987–1988)
* [[Madeleine Strindberg]] (1988–1989)<ref name="NG past residencies"/>

{{column}}

;Associate Artists (1989–2016)
* [[Paula Rego]] (1989–1990)
* [[Ken Kiff]] (1991–1993)
* [[Peter Blake (artist)|Peter Blake]] (1994–1996)
* [[Ana Maria Pacheco]] (1997–1999)
* [[Ron Mueck]] (2000–2002)
* [[John Virtue]] (2003–2005)
* [[Alison Watt (Scottish painter)|Alison Watt]] (2006–2008)
* [[Michael Landy]] (2009–2013)
* [[George Shaw (artist)|George Shaw]] (2014–2016)<ref name="NG past residencies"/>

{{column}}

;Contemporary Fellowship Artist (2020–2022)
* [[Nalini Malani]] (2020–2022)<ref>{{citation|mode=cs1|url=https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/residency-programmes/national-gallery-contemporary-fellowship-with-art-fund|title=The National Gallery Contemporary Fellowship with Art Fund|publisher=National Gallery|access-date=4 April 2024}}</ref>

;Artists in Residence (2020–present)
* [[Rosalind Nashashibi]] (2020)
* [[Ali Cherri]] (2022)
* [[Céline Condorelli]] (2023)
* [[Katrina Palmer]] (2024)
* [[Ming Wong]] (2025)<ref>{{citation|mode=cs1|url=https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/residency-programmes/national-gallery-artist-in-residence|title=Artist in Residence|publisher=National Gallery|access-date=4 April 2025}}</ref>

{{columns-end}}

==Transport connections==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Service !! Station/stop !! Lines/routes served !! Distance<br />from National Gallery
|-
| rowspan="4" | London Buses {{rail-interchange|london|bus}}
| Trafalgar Square / Charing Cross Station {{access icon}} || 24, 29, 176 ||
|-
| Trafalgar Square {{access icon}} || 6, 9, 13, 15,139 ||
|-
| Trafalgar Square / Charing Cross Station {{access icon}} || 3, 12, 88, 159, 453 ||
|-
| Trafalgar Square {{access icon}} || 3, 6, 12, 13, 15, 23, 88, 139, 159, 453 ||
|-
| rowspan="3"|London Underground {{Rail-interchange|london|underground}}
| [[Leicester Square tube station|Leicester Square]] || [[File:London flag boxes - Underground Piccadilly line.svg|100px|link=w:Piccadilly line|alt=Piccadilly line]]<br />[[File:Northern line flag box.svg|100px|link=w:Northern line|alt=Northern line]] || 0.2-mile walk<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Leicester+Square+Station,+%5Bno+name%5D,+London+WC2H+0AP/51.5085199,-0.1281852/@51.5093212,-0.1297382,18z/data=!3m1!5s0x487604ce0ee17075:0xe9901a4139ea228c!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x487604cd91e8c0f7:0x36f5cefeff43d83!2m2!1d-0.1284941!2d51.5110418!1m0!3e2?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDEwOC4wIKXMDSoJLDEwMjExMjMzSAFQAw%3D%3D|title=Google Maps|website=Google Maps}}</ref>
|-
| [[Charing Cross tube station|Charing Cross]] || [[File:London flag boxes - Underground Bakerloo line.svg|100px|link=w:Bakerloo line|alt=Bakerloo line]]<br />[[File:Northern line flag box.svg|100px|link=w:Northern line|alt=Northern line]] ||
|-
| [[Embankment tube station|Embankment]] || [[File:London flag boxes - Underground Bakerloo line.svg|100px|link=w:Bakerloo line|alt=Bakerloo line]]<br />[[File:London flag boxes - Underground Circle line.svg|100px|link=w:Circle line (London Underground)|alt=Circle line]]<br />[[File:District line flag box.svg|100px|link=w:District line|alt=District line]]<br />[[File:Northern line flag box.svg|100px|link=w:Northern line|alt=Northern line]] || 0.3-mile walk<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=goodge+street+tube+station&daddr=Great+Russell+St&geocode=FakjEgMd-vH9_ym7qz2nLht2SDGl7AsxfljwMw;FZsbEgMdfRT-_w&hl=en&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=17&dirflg=w&sll=51.518584,-0.129787&sspn=0.003538,0.010568&ie=UTF8&z=17|title=Google Maps|website=Google Maps}}</ref>
|-
| National Rail {{rail-interchange|gb|rail}} || [[Charing Cross Station|Charing Cross]] {{access icon}}|| [[File:Southeastern-toc-logo-light.svg|100px|link=w:Southeastern (train operating company)|alt=Southeastern (train operating company)]] || 0.2-mile walk<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Strand/A4&daddr=National+Gallery&geocode=FYX2EQMdXRj-_w;FYD1EQMdowr-_yHj1aQdNS1MQw&hl=en&mra=dme&mrsp=0&sz=17&dirflg=w&sll=51.508742,-0.126193&sspn=0.003539,0.010568&ie=UTF8&z=17|title=Google Maps|website=Google Maps}}</ref>
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|London|Visual arts}}
* [[List of most visited museums in the United Kingdom]]
* [[List of most visited art museums]]
* [[List of largest art museums]]
* [[Micro gallery]], installed in 1991

== Explanatory notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== General sources ===
{{refbegin|30em|indent=y}}
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* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Bomford |first=David |year=1997 |title=Conservation of Paintings |place=London |publisher=National Gallery Company}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Bosman |first=Suzanne |year=2008 |title=The National Gallery in Wartime |place=London |publisher=National Gallery Company}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Conlin |first=Jonathan |year=2006 |title=The Nation's Mantelpiece: A History of the National Gallery |place=London |publisher=Pallas Athene}}
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* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Gaskell |first=Ivan |year=2000 |title=Vermeer's Wager: Speculations on Art History, Theory and Art Museums |place=London |publisher=Reaktion}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last1=Gentili |first1=Augusto |last2=Barcham |first2=William |last3=Whiteley |first3=Linda |year=2000 |title=Paintings in the National Gallery |place=London |publisher=Little, Brown & Co.}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Jencks |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Jencks |year=1991 |title=Post-Modern Triumphs in London |place=London and New York |publisher=Academy Editions, St. Martin's Press}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Langmuir |first=Erika |year=2005 |title=The National Gallery Companion Guide |place=London and New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Liscombe |first=R. W. |year=1980 |title=William Wilkins, 1778–1839 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=MacGregor |first=Neil |author-link=Neil MacGregor |year=2004 |chapter=A Pentecost in Trafalgar Square |pages=27–49 |editor-last=Cuno |editor-first=James |title=Whose Muse? Art Museums and the Public Trust |location=Princeton and Cambridge |publisher=Princeton University Press and Harvard University Art Museums}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Oliver |first=Lois |year=2004 |title=Boris Anrep: The National Gallery Mosaics |place=London |publisher=National Gallery Company}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Penny |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Penny |year=2008 |title=National Gallery Catalogues (new series): The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings, Volume II, Venice 1540–1600 |place=London |publisher=National Gallery Publications Ltd |isbn= 978-1-85709-913-3}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |author-link=Nikolaus Pevsner |last2=Bradley |first2=Simon |year=2003 |title=The Buildings of England London 6: Westminster |place=London and New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last= Potterton |first=Homan |author-link=Homan Potterton |year=1977 |title=The National Gallery, London |place=London |publisher=Thames & Hudson}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Shenton |first=Caroline |year=2021 |title=National Treasures: Saving the Nation's Art in World War II |location=London |publisher=John Murray |type=Hardback |isbn=978-1-529-38743-8}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Smith |first=Charles Saumarez |author-link=Charles Saumarez Smith |year=2009 |title=The National Gallery: A Short History |place=London |publisher=Frances Lincoln Limited}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Spalding |first=Frances |author-link=Frances Spalding |year=1998 |title=The Tate: A History |place=London |publisher=Tate Gallery Publishing}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Summerson |first=John |author-link=John Summerson |year=1962 |title= Georgian London |place=London |publisher=Penguin}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Taylor |first=Brandon |year=1999 |title= Art for the Nation: Exhibitions and the London Public, 1747–2001 |place=Manchester |publisher=Manchester University Press}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Walden |first=Sarah |year=2004 |title=The Ravished Image: An Introduction to the Art of Picture Restoration & Its Risks |place=London |publisher=Gibson Square}}
* {{citation |mode=cs1 |last=Whitehead |first=Christopher |year=2005 |title=The Public Art Museum in Nineteenth Century Britain |place=Farnham |publisher=Ashgate Publishing}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons and category|National Gallery, London|National Gallery, London}}
* {{Official website}}
** [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/must-sees Highlights from the collection]
* [https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/the-national-gallery-london?hl=en Virtual tour of the National Gallery] provided by [[Google Arts & Culture]]
* [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=40588 The National Gallery at Pall Mall] from the ''[[Survey of London]]''
* [https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/jun/04/my-national-gallery-review ''The Guardian'' review of "My National Gallery" 2024 film]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/dec/28/national-gallery-film-review-frederick-wiseman-laura-cumming ''The Guardian'' review of "National Gallery" 2014 film]

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{{Royal Academy of Arts}}
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