Works by Botticelli, da Vinci, Monet, Raphael, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Vermeer, and numerous other treasured artists throughout history, adorn the walls within the National Gallery of Art located in Trafalgar Square. The Gallery collection started in the early 1800s with 38 paintings that were collected by banker, John Julius Angerstein. In 1824, the House of Commons agreed to pay £57,000 for Angerstein’s collection in order to form the beginnings of a new national collection. The pictures were first displayed at Angerstein’s home until 1831 when Parliament agreed to construct a building for the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square. The new building finally opened in 1838, and today, the gallery has a total floor area big enough to hold over 2,000 of London’s double-decker red buses. The current National Gallery Collection contains over 2,300 works of Western European art from the 13th to the 19th centuries. From the beginning, the National Gallery has been committed to providing free admission for all guests, and to offering an active educational program.
- The National Gallery of Art
- Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
- www.nationalgallery.org.uk
- Underground: Charing Cross