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Art in
London
The capital’s art scene is as eclectic as the city
itself, and it’s possible to flit between
Renaissance masterpieces and contemporary
stars all within a few gallery steps.Tate Britain,
originally
opened in 1897Contemporary
19th and 20th century Old masters
TATE BRITAIN
Splendidly refurbished and
showing off a rehung collection,
the more elderly and venerable
Tate sibling celebrates paintings
from 1500 to the present, with
modern pieces from Lucian
Freud, Barbara Hepworth,
Francis Bacon, Henry Moore
and Tracey Emin. The stars of
the show are the visions of
19th-century English artist
JMW Turner (tate.org.uk;
Millbank; free).COURTAULD GALLERY
The Courtauld Gallery in
Somerset House contains a
wealth of masterpieces by
Rubens, Cézanne, Degas,
Renoir, Manet, Monet and
Seurat, to mention a few, but
it is particularly known for its
19th-century Impressionist
collection. Works to look out
for include Manet’s A Bar at the
Folies-Bergère; Vincent Van
Gogh’s Self-Portrait with
Bandaged Ear; and Gauguin’s
Nevermore (courtauld.ac.uk;
Strand; open daily; from
US$9.25).NATIONAL PORTRAIT
GALLERY
What makes the NPG so
compelling is its familiarity; in
many cases you’ll have heard of
the subject (royals, scientists,
politicians, celebrities) or the
artist (Warhol, Leibovitz).
Popular works include a portrait
of William Shakespeare,
believed to be the only likeness
made during his lifetime; the
iconic Blur portraits by Julian
Opie; and Sam Taylor-Wood’s
video-portrait of David
Beckham asleep (npg.org.uk; St
Martin’s Place; free).TATE MODERN
This outstanding art gallery,
housed in a creatively revamped
brick power station on South Bank,
has been extraordinarily successful
in bringing challenging work to the
masses, both through its free
permanent collection and
fee-paying, big-name temporary
exhibitions. There are free, guided
highlights tours at 11am, noon,
2pm and 3pm daily (tate.org.uk;
Queen’s Walk; free).SAATCHI GALLERY
Famed for courting controversy,
the gallery hosts temporary
exhibitions of experimental and
thought-provoking work across
a variety of media. The white
and sanded bare-floorboard
galleries are magnificently
presented, but save some
wonder for Gallery 13, where
Richard Wilson’s beautiful 20:50
is on permanent display. An
interesting shop draws visitors in
on the first floor (saatchi
gallery.com; King’s Rd; free).SERPENTINE
GALLERIES
Situated in the midst of leafy
Kensington Gardens, this is one
of London’s most important
contemporary art galleries. Each
year, the gallery commissions
an international architect to
erect an unusual ‘Summer
Pavillion’, and the galleries run
a programme of readings, talks
and open-air cinema screenings
(serpentinegalleries.org;
closed Mon; free).VICTORIA & ALBERT
MUSEUM
The Museum of Manufactures,
as the V&A was known when
it opened in 1852, houses the
world’s largest collection of
decorative arts, but also fine
art such as paintings, prints and
drawings. Its National Collection
of Sculpture, comprising 22,000
objects dating from the 4th
century, is especially impressive
(vam.ac.uk; Cromwell Rd; free).
NATIONAL GALLERY
With some 2,300 paintings on
display, this is one of the world’s
richest art collections, with
seminal works from the
mid-13th to the early 20th
century. Its religious art
collection includes Da Vinci’s
Virgin of the Rocks, while
Michelangelo, Titian, Raphael
and El Greco hold court in the
West Wing. The North Wing is
graced by Rubens, Rembrandt
and Caravaggio (nationalgallery.
org.uk; Trafalgar Sq; free).SIR JOHN SOANE’S
MUSEUM
This little museum is one of the
most atmospheric in London. The
heritage-listed building is
brimming with curiosities and
works of art, including Riva degli
Schiavoni, Looking West, by
Canaletto and the original A
Rake’s Progress – William
Hogarth’s set of satirical cartoons
of late-18th-century London
lowlife (soane.org; 13 Lincoln’s
Inn Fields; closed Mon; free).Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear
by Van Gogh at the CourtauldBound (2011) by Alice Anderson
at the Saatchi GalleryRoom 50a: The Renaissance City
at the Victoria & Albert MuseumFold 2