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NG Stories: Making a National Gallery

Until 12 January 2025

Gallery B

Immerse yourself in 200 years of extraordinary National Gallery stories.

From a resident family of 14 and an intrepid travelling agent to ground-breaking scientists and a wartime pianist, NG Stories tells the history of the National Gallery through the people who made us what we are today.

There’s a slate mine in Wales where paintings were safely stored during the Second World War. A guard dog who became a member of staff. And a Keeper’s family, with 14 children, who lived in the building and kept diaries.

You’ll discover some of the untold personal stories of the Gallery and the special memories we have been privileged to help create for our visitors. From childhood adventures to life-changing first art encounters, our visitors have always been at the heart of what we do.

Through magical soundscapes and immersive digital interactions, you'll experience the work of the many people here at the Gallery who help to care for the paintings and see how this work has changed over the years.

This experience, both online and in the Gallery, uses digital technology to tell you the unexpected human stories which have shaped the past and present of our 200-year history.

Ticket prices

Free

Please book a general admission ticket to gain entry to the National Gallery. We encourage you to book ahead of your visit.

 

NG Stories is supported by

 

Discover

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Be part of our future

We wouldn’t be here without our visitors, both near and far.

We want to know your NG Story and include you in a dedicated part of the NG Stories experience.

We will also select some of your stories to be featured in the new Sainsbury Wing when it reopens.

Your story can be anything you want to share with us about your memories of the National Gallery. That might be a fond memory, a first visit, something that caught your imagination and inspired you, or a favourite painting.

Your contributions will become part of our story for the next 200 years.

Tell us your National Gallery story 

 

Visitor stories

 

Surprised by a tiger

Childhood memories of sitting cross-legged in front of Rousseau's tiger.

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A first, life-enriching art encounter

Opening a door to another, behind-the-scenes world.

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The Scrapbook

How a pamphlet and a painting helped connect a family through art.

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National Gallery stories

Safeguarding national treasures

How the National Gallery Collection was secretly evacuated during the Second World War

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Paintings underground

Who protected the National Gallery Collection during the First World War?

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Music in wartime

How Myra Hess brought concerts to the National Gallery during the Second World War

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The Monuments Men

How two curators helped rescue stolen paintings during the Second World War

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An undercover mission

Director Sir Charles Holmes’s secret journey to buy works from Edgar Degas’s collection

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The first members of staff

Who were the first people to work at the National Gallery?

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Under the microscope

Who founded the National Gallery's first chemical laboratory?

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Artists in residence

Inside the artist's studio at the National Gallery

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A gallery for the people

Who founded the National Gallery?

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The Travelling Agent

How Otto Mündler travelled around Europe to discover new works of art for the National Gallery

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Chipping in for Constable

Who helped the National Gallery buy its first John Constable painting?

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Looking for a new home

Who designed the National Gallery building in Trafalgar Square?

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The Titian appeal

How the public helped the National Gallery keep a painting on display

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At home in the Gallery

Meet the family who lived in the National Gallery

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Architectural competition

Who designed the Barry Rooms at the National Gallery?

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Sunday opening hours

How the public helped the National Gallery open seven days a week

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Artists inspiring artists

Who were the art copyists at the National Gallery?

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The Grand Tour

Who helped turn the streets of London into an outdoor gallery in 2007?

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The Turner bequest

How did the National Gallery receive its largest ever gift of paintings?

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New directions

Meet Sir Charles Lock Eastlake: the National Gallery's first Director

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Further information

For more information about the content featured across the NG Stories in-Gallery experience please see the NG Stories content list.