Art for All

It was important to the UK government that all classes of society could enjoy the art for free. Trafalgar Square was chosen as the gallery’s location because it was easily accessible by both the carriages belonging to those in London’s prosperous west, and by foot for those walking from the much poorer eastern region of the city. The gallery building itself sits on the site for the former King’s Mews, and has been expanded on several occasions over the years as its collection has continued to grow.

The first pieces of art in the gallery were purchased by the government from the estate of a local financier, John Julius Angerstein. This original collection of thirty eight paintings included pieces by Raphael, and over the years which have followed, the collection has only become larger and more impressive. Some 2,300 paintings now hang in the gallery, including van Gogh’s famous Sunflowers and Turner’s Fighting Temeraire. Paintings date from the mid 13th century up until the 1900s.