National Gallery

Exclusive: international museum attendance figures back to pre-pandemic levels

In 2023, many of the world’s major museums equaled—or surpassed—their 2019 attendance figures. However, some UK institutions are still lagging behind, finds The Art Newspaper’s annual survey

Remembering Jacob Rothschild, banker, collector, philanthropist, and a towering figure in the British art world

A scion of the famous banking dynasty, he led the National Gallery, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Waddesdon Manor

Mona Lisa undamaged after protesters at the Louvre throw soup at Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece

Members of Riposte Alimentaire demand the right to "healthy and sustainable food" after splattering pumpkin soup over the protective glazing in front of the world's most-viewed painting

From Apple's Vision Pro goggles to digital NG200—six things to look out for in art and tech in 2024

The coming year has buttons for everyone to press including a celebration of the computer artist Harold Cohen and Art Dubai Digital

'Rokeby Venus' goes back on show at National Gallery four weeks after attack by climate activists

Velázquez masterpiece required 'conservation treatment to minor damage sustained to the painting surface, and the fitting of new glazing' following hammer attack on 6 November

First exhibition of forgotten Renaissance painter Francesco Pesellino opens in London

Works by the Florentine artist, who has been largely overlooked since his death aged 35, will go on show at the National Gallery

How Velázquez's 'Rokeby Venus' became a symbol of public pride—and political protest

This week's attack by climate protesters is the third time that the National Gallery masterpiece has been recruited to articulate contemporary social or cultural concerns

Climate activists attack Velázquez's ‘Rokeby Venus’ at the National Gallery in London

Two Just Stop Oil Activists targeted the work as a protest against new UK gas and oil licences, just over a century after the suffragette Mary Richardson attacked the same painting in 1914

Van Gogh would have loved to see the National Gallery’s exhibition on Hals

We spotlight eight paintings in the London show that Vincent singled out for special praise

Drunkard or genius? London's National Gallery gets up close and personal with Frans Hals

First major survey of Dutch painter in three decades will include reunited panels and monumental paintings

National Gallery London in 'ongoing police incident' after man scales roof

Police are attempting to "make contact" with a man photographed on the edge of the central London gallery's roof

Diaryblog

Paula Rego's massive mural—bruisers and all—unveiled at London's National Gallery

Curator urges Rego fans to put pen to paper and get the vast work put on permanent display

National Gallery London masterpieces show in Shanghai sets record for visitor numbers

Beating the most popular paid-for exhibition on home turf, it has been a big win for the museum—but ethical questions linger

Diaryblog

National Gallery summer party puts the fun in funding

Lavish event helps museum edge closer to £95m target for ambitious NG200 programme

National Portrait Gallery should become a dispersed museum

The gallery—and the other big London museums—should be sending their vast collections around the country instead of hiding them in basements

Simon Jenkins

London's National Gallery gets papal approval for its Saint Francis show

Exhibits include a cloth said to have been worn by the saint, masterpieces by Botticelli and Zurbarán, and a new Richard Long commission

Paula Rego’s monumental mural filled with famous female figures—and National Gallery staff—to go on show in London

Ten-metre long painting will be displayed alongside the 15th-century altarpiece that served as its inspiration

Diaryblog

Keeping it real—fashion supremo Erdem Moralıoğlu is fascinated by museum conservation

The designer consulted restorers at the National Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum and Tate Britain for his latest collection

Inside the 'biggest art fraud in history': what the alleged mass forgery tells us about the market for First Nations art in Canada

Plus worryingly low artists’ pay in the UK and an Ugly Duchess

Hosted by Ben Luke. With guest speaker Benjamin Sutton. Produced by David Clack and Aimee Dawson
Sponsored byChristie's

What's up at the National Gallery? The London institution is half of what it used to be

The closure of the Sainsbury Wing ahead of a £35m refurbishment has meant that much of the museum is off limits in 2023. I hope it's worth it

Heritagecomment

London National Gallery revamp sets troubling precedent on the preservation of newer heritage sites

Existing plans to redevelop the gallery’s Sainsbury Wing, which will transform its entrance, demonstrate how newer listed buildings are treated with less respect than older heritage sites

Acquisitions round-up: two London museums jointly purchase a masterpiece of the Aesthetic movement

Our pick of the latest gifts and purchases to enter institutional collections worldwide

Van Gogh’s cypresses, a sequel to the sunflowers

New York’s Met plans a major show opening next May, with some of his greatest landscapes of Provence

London National Gallery's cancelled partnership with Pushkin Museum revealed

UK museum now seeking loans to save blockbuster show of Modern art, after collaboration with Russia rejected

Controversial remodel of National Gallery London's Sainsbury Wing gets green light from city council

Plans to make the Grade I-listed museum wing more accessible and sustainable, described by some leading architects as "ill-judged" and "insensitive", approved by Westminster planning committee

In time for Christmas: London's National Gallery unveils newly-restored Piero della Francesca nativity scene

Painstaking restoration of Italian master’s revered painting reveals its full glory once more

London's National Gallery revamp row: is it a sensitive makeover or like 'an airport lounge'?

Plus, contemporary art in Lagos and Chagall's falling angel

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by David Clack, Aimee Dawson and Henrietta Bentall
Sponsored byChristie's
Letterscomment

'Move London's National Gallery entrance from Trafalgar Square to a side street? No!'

Architect Edward Jones weighs in on the museum's controversial redevelopment plans

National Gallery renovation plans contested—while Britain appoints new leader uncontested

In the letter for our November issue, editor Alison Cole reflects on the tumultuous times of two London institutions