Exciting News:
I am super excited because I will finally be able to see it for real! I moved to London just a few weeks before it closed, but with Covid, lockdowns and all I didn’t get a chance to see it in time.
After a three-year closure and £41m redevelopment, the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London is set to reopen its doors at the end of this week, on Friday 22 June 2023, with a complete rehang of the collection.
The project has seen the gallery’s interior completely transformed, with new galleries, learning spaces, and a public square.
Nearly There…
The gallery closed in March 2020 for a major renovation, which was the largest since the building opened in 1895.
The renovation included the construction of a new entrance, a new learning center, and a new exhibition space.
So What’s new?
“A Gallery For Everyone”
The new NPG is reopening with a new focus on diversity and inclusion, to better acknowledge the UK’s history and diverse population.
The rehang of the collection, led by Alison Smith, the NPG’s chief curator, promises to lead visitors on “a walk through British history, culture and society, from the Plantagenets through to the present day,” with more contemporary art, a broader range of media, and more diverse sitters who better reflect the audiences of today.
Redressing Imbalance
The National Portrait Gallery has taken significant steps to redress the gender and racial imbalance in their collections.
Women
The gallery has increased the representation of women from 37% to 48%.
This includes adding new portraits of women in areas previously dominated by men, such as science and technology: Ada Lovelace the “first computer programmer” (via a loan from the Government Art Collection) and the electrical engineer Caroline Haslett:
A new 8m-long mural by Jann Haworth and Liberty Blake, commissioned through the Chanel fund, will feature 130 women, from the ancient warrior queen Boudicca to Jane Austen and the singer Amy Winehouse.
Ethnic Minorities
The representation of sitters from ethnic minorities has been raised too, from 3% to 11%.
Visitors can view the earliest known image of a Black Briton, the Tudor court trumpeter John Blanke, on a screen near paintings of his royal patrons, Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.
The NPG also acquired Sir Joshua Reynolds’ spectacular Portrait of Mai (Omai), which holds a pivotal place in global art history, depicting the first Polynesian to visit Britain, and is widely regarded as the finest portrait by one of Britain’s greatest artists.
Contemporary loans will reflect the importance of Black figures in the abolition of slavery, and contemporary art interventions, photographic enlargements, and digital interpretation will be used to bring in “overlooked histories and missing sitters” through history.
First Look Festival
The gallery’s reopening will be celebrated with a 2-week festival, which will include talks, performances, and workshops. Click here for the programme.
Practical information
The National Portrait Gallery is free to visit.
The gallery is open from 10:30am to 6pm, from Tuesday to Sunday,
and from 10:30am to 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Click here to plan your visit and see what’s on at the moment.
Helene
