The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current director of the National Gallery is Gabriele Finaldi.
Trafalgar Square façade
The Wilkins Building, with the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields to the right
The Sainsbury Wing, as built, seen from Trafalgar Square
The Raising of Lazarus by Sebastiano del Piombo, from the Angerstein collection. This became the founding collection of the National Gallery in 1824. The painting has the accession number NG1, making it officially the first painting to enter the gallery.
An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It might be in public or private ownership, be accessible to all, or have restrictions in place. Although primarily concerned with visual art, art museums are often used as a venue for other cultural exchanges and artistic activities, such as lectures, jewelry, performance arts, music concerts, or poetry readings. Art museums also frequently host themed temporary exhibitions, which often include items on loan from other collections.
The Louvre in Paris, the most-visited art museum in the world in 2022.
The art collection at the Palace of Versailles in France was periodically open for public viewing.
Kunstmuseum Basel, the world's first public art museum
The University of Tartu's art museum, the oldest museum in Estonia