National Gallery

The original building at Trafalgar Square was designed by the Greek Revival architect William Wilkins and opened in 1838. The structure faced criticism for its narrow depth due to adjacent buildings, which limited the layout. Significant expansions followed, including major additions by Sir Charles Barry between 1872 and 1876, which created grand architectural spaces after the demolition of a workhouse. The most notable modern addition is the Sainsbury Wing, designed by postmodernist architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, which opened in 1991 to house the early Renaissance collection. In September 2025, plans were announced for a new £375 million wing to open in the 2030s.

The collection comprises approximately 2,600 works and is particularly renowned for its comprehensive holdings of Italian Renaissance paintings, considered the most extensive outside Italy. It features masterpieces by major Florentine and Venetian masters, including Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Artemisia Gentileschi. The Gallery also holds significant works by Northern European artists such as Johannes Vermeer and Peter Paul Rubens, as well as British, French, and Spanish painters. Notable specific works include Vincent van Gogh's 'A Wheatfield, with Cypresses' and a small but significant collection of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings.

The National Gallery holds a unique position in the art world as a public institution created specifically to serve the nation, rather than evolving from a private royal collection. Its founding in 1824 marked a pivotal moment in British cultural history, establishing the principle that art should be accessible to the general public. The Gallery's collection policy has evolved over two centuries, shifting from a focus on Old Masters to include Impressionist works, and recently announcing a policy change to acquire 20th-century art. Its role during the Second World War, where paintings were evacuated to Wales while concerts were held in the empty galleries, further cemented its status as a vital cultural institution.