London Visit

National Gallery

I was interested in visiting the National Gallery so I went to see it myself. You can find over one thousand portraits featuring people who have formed and shaped British history from the past to the present day. The national gallery is the best collection of European painting in the world.The ground floor and the first floor contain Victorian art and the 20th century andthe collection is organized chronologically starting from the second floor. The nationalgallery is located on the north side of Trafalgar Square on Orange Street and has been refurbished many times. The building has a beautiful design and the architecture is very modern, which is why I prefer inside the gallery. The rooms are large and each room contains many pictures on each floor, the large hall which is connected to smaller rooms without any doors. 38 rooms contain portraits dedicated to science, technology and business and 41 rooms are dedicated to the arts. The ground floor is dedicated to the national gallery’s own general collection and portrays aspects of modern portrait practice . There are also many pictures of British politicians and the Royal family. Many of the pictures have protective glass coverings.The national gallery technical, published annually, is an exclusive record of research carried out by the national gallery. Last Friday I went there. It has a guided tour daily at 11:30 A.M. and 2:30 P.M. and it is free for public. Its collection can be enjoyed by the largest public possible. It was my first visit to the national gallery it is a large wonderful and building. All of the people in the pictures were famous from people all years of British history, some faces are well-known while others are less so. All of the paintings have a short biography and information about when it was created. The most interesting part is, you visit the exhibition and you can choose your favourite portrait. You can then fill in a form to register your vote and this made me feel more part of the experience. Every day it is also possible to listen to various talks and lectures, giving you extra information on parts of the exhibition. There are also many special exhibition that are held throughout the year. After After I saw the gallery , I was interested in finding out how paintings are collected. Matthew Power of The National Gallery gave me information about how the gallery operates, and the process. The Gallery purchases new works for the collection however it borrows paintings from other collections from time to time. Funding of the acquisitions comes both from the Government and through private funds. For example, In April 1824 the House of Commons listed £57,000 for the purchase of the thirty- eight pictures of the banker John Angerstein (1735 - 1823). The gallery forms the basis of the national collection. Also the gallery is given grant aid from the Government and also is given money through sponsorships and the National Gallery Company. From the very beginning, the National Gallery's collection had included works by British artists. Afterwards, he told me more about the process. At first, The Gallery has loaned old paintings to other museums for their exhibitions. Then works for the collection is purchased by The Gallery, it will also be gifted paintings through bequests or through the in lieu of inheritance tax scheme.