Our latest stories
Why do artists paint young women looking into mirrors?
Associate Curator Sarah Herring explores the theme of young women looking into mirrors in art.
Unexpected views
Katrina Palmer, National Gallery Artist in Residence 2024
Katrina Palmer shares her interest in the visible and invisible activities that take place in the Gallery.
Holbein's 'Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan'
Picture of the month November 2024
Researcher Hannah Rogers travels back in time to our 'Picture of the month' from November 1943, and tells the story of how the series started during the Second World War
Liss's 'Judith in the Tent of Holofernes'
Michael Ohajuru takes a closer look at this violent scene
Claude's 'Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba'
Picture of the month October 2024
There are many representations of the Queen of Sheba in art, whether in 15th-century manuscripts, Renaissance paintings or contemporary artworks, but what does the way she is presented tell us about attitudes towards Black women at the time? Melissa Baksh shares her thoughts on the depiction of the Queen of Sheba in our Claude painting, as well as other artworks throughout history.
The Director's favourite paintings
Throughout the month of September, we are celebrating our Membership scheme’s 10th Anniversary. To mark this moment we asked our Director, Gabriele Finaldi, to select 10 of his favourite paintings from an unmatched collection of over 2,400 works.
Richard Wilson's 'The Valley of the Dee, with Chester in the Distance'
Picture of the month September 2024
Curator Mary McMahon and Conservation Fellow Maria Carolina Peña-Mariño discuss the challenge of restoring Richard Wilson's painting 'The Valley of the Dee, with Chester in the Distance'
Seeing Caravaggio in a new light
Anne Stewart, Curator of Art at Ulster Museum explores Caravaggio's use of light in his paintings.
Henri Rousseau's 'Surprised!'
Picture of the month August 2024
Find out what primary school children made of this year's Take One Picture painting.
How a Canaletto painting found refuge in Wales
The National Library of Wales welcomes back Canaletto’s masterpiece 'The Stonemason’s Yard' after having taken refuge there over 80 years ago.
Artemisia Gentileschi in the mirror
Artist Jesse Jones discusses her response to Artemisia Gentileschi’s ‘Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria’.
The Triumph of Art: Ed Hall in conversation
Celebrated banner maker Ed Hall in conversation with Imogen Tedbury, our Curator of Italian Paintings before 1500
![[Re]curated: Lucian Freud - The Artist’s Eye](/media/rfypr0mm/freud-artist-s-eye-thumbnail.jpg?rmode=crop&width=800&height=800&quality=85)
[Re]curated: Lucian Freud - The Artist’s Eye
Step back in time to 1987 and experience ‘The Artist’s Eye’ – an exhibition personally curated by artist Lucian Freud – through a virtual recreation.
Unexpected views
Bob and Roberta Smith on Turner's 'Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway'
Bob and Roberta Smith talks about his, and his artist father's, love of both Turner and of the Great Western Railway.
Why did Rosa Bonheur hide herself in this painting?
Find out about the trailblazing artist behind 'The Horse Fair'
Berthe Morisot's 'Summer's Day'
Picture of the month July 2024
Take in the sunshine of Paris's Bois de Boulogne with Morisot's summer scene
Unexpected views
Rana Begum on Turner's, 'Ulysses deriding Polyphemus - Homer's Odyssey'
Rana Begum relates to ideas and themes in Turner's mythical scene
Canaletto's 'London: Interior of the Rotunda at Ranelagh'
Picture of the month June 2024
Find out how Canaletto has inspired contemporary jewellery and garden designers.
Unexpected views
Alexis Teplin on Paul Cezanne’s 'Hillside in Provence'
Alexis Teplin talks about her work and Paul Cezanne’s 'Hillside in Provence'
What makes 'The Wilton Diptych' so unique?
Curator Emma Capron and Conservator Britta New, discuss the puzzling work behind 'The Wilton Diptych' which makes it one of the most intriguing artworks in the world.
Why did Queen Charlotte not like this portrait of herself?
Dear gentle reader, we note that Queen Charlotte despised this portrait of herself. As Bridgerton returns to our screens with season three, pray watch curator Jon King as he recounts the story behind this portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence.
Unexpected views
Sharon Walters on Francisco de Zurbarán's 'Saint Margaret of Antioch'
Artist Sharon Walters talks about her work with portraiture and images of women in relation to Francisco de Zurbarán's 'Saint Margaret of Antioch'
Piero della Francesca's 'The Baptism of Christ'
Picture of the month May 2024
In celebration of our 200th birthday, Director Gabriele Finaldi has picked one of his favourite works in the collection.
Chemistry of colour
Ultramarine
Follow the journey of one of the most celebrated and sought-after pigments in art.
Behind the scenes in Conservation
Britta New shows how science and new technology improve our understanding of the changes that were made to Rubens's 'Judgement of Paris' over its lifetime.
Michelangelo's 'The Entombment'
Picture of the month April 2024
Why would Michelangelo leave a work unfinished? Courses and Events Programmer Caroline Miller and Gallery Educator Bethan Durie investigate with a close look at 'The Entombment'
Unexpected views
Jananne Al-Ani on Egbert van der Poel's 'A View of Delft after the Explosion of 1654'
Artist Jananne Al-Ani talks about the interesting parallels she found between this small painting, a relatively new find for her in the collection, and her own research
Is there engineering in art?
Rob Bell from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers asks the question is there engineering in art?
There may be art in engineering but is there engineering in art? Rob looks for the answer in Turner's 'Rain, Steam and Speed' and 'Dutch Boats in a Gale'
Alexandrine-Emilie Brongniart
Picture of the month March 2024
In celebration of Women’s History Month, we take a closer look at a charming portrait by one of the most popular female artists in the collection, Elisabeth Louise Vigée le Brun
The Linbury Lecture 2023
Annabelle Selldorf
Annabelle Selldorf, the founding principal of New York City-based Selldorf Architects delivers the 2023 lecture, exploring the relationship of architecture to art in museum settings
The myth and image of Narcissus
Picture of the month February 2024
Narcissus's tale of tragic beauty and forbidden desire has long inspired artists. Through images from the Renaissance to today, Holly James Johnston explores how the myth has particularly resonated with queer artistic and literary circles
Why is this picture painted in black and white?
Dr Francesca Whitlum-Cooper asks what are we really looking at here? What clues lie in this black and white picture? Could this painting be pretending to be something else?
Meindert Hobbema's 'The Avenue at Middelharnis'
Picture of the month January 2024
Start the year with a mindful look at this Dutch landscape, guided by Lucia van der Drift
Artists on Artists
Volker Hermes and Peter Brathwaite
Artists Peter Brathwaite and Volker Hermes on Frans Hals, creating character, and the 'Joan Collins of Haarlem'
Behind the scenes in Conservation
A closer look at Pesellino
Marvel at Pesellino's mastery of gold and silver in the newly restored 'Story of David' panels and follow the clues that suggest the panels were owned by the Medici family
Fra Filippo Lippi's 'The Annunciation'
Picture of the month December 2023
Curatorial Fellow Nicholas Flory takes a look at the details in Lippi's painting of the Archangel Gabriel with Mary – the painting voted your picture of the month
Pauline Matthews' legacy gift
Memories of the Gallery and Manod
Suzanne Bosman tells the story of Pauline Matthews OBE, whose father helped to secure the safety of the Gallery’s paintings during the Second World War
Bermejo's 'Saint Michael Triumphs over the Devil'
Picture of the month November 2023
Curator Daniel Sobrino Ralston tells us why Bermejo's late Gothic-demon was the stuff of nightmares in its day
Linked Lives: A Poet, An Abolitionist and An Aristocrat
How did we trace these portraits in London to a poet in New Orleans?
Poet Madeleine Le Cesne discovers the astonishing story of her family’s history at two neighbouring London galleries.
Contemporary artists at the National Gallery
Explore how some of the most innovative artists are connected with the nation's collection.
Unexpected views
Eddie Otchere on Hendrick ter Brugghen's 'The Concert'
A new take on the painting from photographer, educator and curator Eddie Otchere that draws on his interest in hip hop and photography.
Frans Hals: Curators' highlights
Take a peek at some of the highlights in 'The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Frans Hals', with curators Bart Cornelis and Charlotte Wytema
Behind the scenes in Conservation
Reuniting 400-year-old marriage portraits
See how the team reunited Frans Hals's portraits of a husband and wife, after two centuries of being apart
Rubens's 'Roman Triumph'
Picture of the month October 2023
Student and Articulation alumna Catherine Ahura gives her personal response to Rubens’s 'Roman Triumph'
How Frans Hals transformed portraiture
Curator Bart Cornelis asks, 'what makes Hals one of the greatest portrait painters in history?'
Behind the scenes in Conservation
The gory story of 'The Judgement of Zaleucus'
Britta New discusses the conservation of a 16th-century panel from the William Morris Gallery which depicts a gruesome tale
Ferdinand Hodler's 'Kien Valley with the Bluemlisalp Massif'
Picture of the month September 2023
Curator Christopher Riopelle takes a closer look at Hodler's vibrant Swiss landscape – the painting voted your picture of the month
Behind the scenes in Conservation
Solving the mystery of a Frans Hals portrait
How did the discovery of a monster and skull hidden beneath this painting reveal the identity of the sitter?
Paula Rego's 'Crivelli's Garden'
Picture of the month August 2023
Former National Gallery Educator Ailsa Bhattacharya, and Lecturer Lizzie Perrotte tell us what it was like sitting for Paula Rego's mural 'Crivelli's Garden'
Behind the Scenes: Refurbishing Room 29
Find out how Room 29 has been transformed by a major refurbishment, made possible through the generous support of the Wolfson Foundation.
Jazz musician Arun Ghosh on Zurbarán's Saint Francis
Picture of the month July 2023
Award-winning clarinettist and composer Arun Ghosh reveals how he's taken peace and inspiration from Saint Francis, with curator Joost Joustra
Unexpected views
Céline Condorelli on Pontormo's 'Joseph with Jacob in Egypt'
Céline Condorelli, our Artist in Residence 2023, explores the relevance of Pontormo's painting and its fantasy architectural setting to her own work.
Sensory storytelling with Constable's 'Cornfield'
See how 'The Cornfield' was brought to life through sensory storytelling, when the painting made a surprise visit to a Tyneside shopping centre
Saint Francis of Assisi: Highlights tour
Glimpse inside our 'Saint Francis of Assisi' exhibition with curators Director Gabriele Finaldi and Dr Joost Joustra
Is Constable's 'Cornfield' a real or imagined landscape?
Dr Mary McMahon, our Bernays Curatorial Fellow of British Paintings, asks whether Constable's 'The Cornfield' is too good to be true. Does this lane and stream exist or is this rural idyll exactly that?
'For Philip II, King of Spain': A new poem by Maz Hedgehog
Picture of the month June 2023
Maz Hedgehog performs a new poem responding to Titian's 'Diana and Callisto', and discusses the complex relationship between artists and their patrons, with Fiona Alderton
Did you know?
Facts you might not know from the National Gallery’s history
Read about the footballs, patrol dogs and slate mines that have made us what we are at 199 years old.
Behind the scenes in Conservation
Cleaning Paolo Uccello's 'The Battle of San Romano'
Restorer Paul Ackroyd talks us through some of the challenges he's encountered while working with Uccello's 15th-century battlefield scene
A mindful look at the Ugly Duchess
Picture of the month May 2023
Take a slow look at the 'Ugly Duchess', with kindness and curiosity, guided by mindfulness practitioner Lucia van der Drift
Literally raising 'The Raising of Lazarus'
Watch as art handlers move one of our largest paintings
Go behind the scenes as our art handlers have the task of moving and rehanging Sebastiano's huge 'Raising of Lazarus'
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Behind the scenes
Find out what happens behind closed doors in this series of films that look at how we care for and conserve our paintings.
Women artists in the collection
Trailblazers and rule-breakers; discover some of the female artists in the collection including Artemisia Gentileschi, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun and Rosa Bonheur.
Van Gogh
Journey to the south of France and witness the landscapes that so inspired Vincent Van Gogh, take a sneak peak of the exhibition with the curators, and discover the secrets behind his palette.
Frans Hals
Discover how Frans Hals transformed portraiture, learn about different artists' perspectives on his works, and see what secrets our Conservation team revealed about some of his paintings.
One painting, many voices
From wondering if tigers go to the dentist to pondering why Mrs Andrews looks unamused, find out how one painting can mean very different things to different people.
See the bigger picture
Read and watch our highlight series below or browse our archive of features and films
Make and create
Get stuck in with online art tutorials you can follow at home.
After Impressionism
Explore a period of great upheaval, when artists broke with established tradition and laid the foundations for the art of the 20th and the 21st centuries.
5-minute meditation
Let go of thoughts of the past and worries for the future with a mindful look at one painting.
Latest films
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