A reproduction of Stubb's 'Whistlejacket' in Exhibition Square, York

The Grand Tour 2008: National Gallery paintings hit the streets of York

5 June 2008

Life-size reproductions of paintings from the National Gallery have been unveiled in York today for the latest stage of the Grand Tour. For the next 17 weeks, 45 reproductions of some of the Gallery’s most major works are hanging in unexpected and unusual places around the city.

The Grand Tour in York follows on from success in London last summer, when reproductions of National Gallery paintings appeared in the streets of Soho, Piccadilly and Covent Garden.

Masterpieces on show in York include Holbein’s ‘The Ambassadors’, Vermeer’s ‘A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal’ and Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’. The National Gallery’s paintings are joined by four works from York Art Gallery, including paintings by Allan Ramsay and Philip Mercier.

The Grand Tour also gives the people of York the chance to admire the handiwork of one of the city’s former residents, George Stubbs. Normally 'Whistlejacket' in on display at the National Gallery.

Today, a reproduction of Stubbs's celebrated painting of the racehorse is hanging in Exhibition Square, behind the White Horse pub (pictured above). The original is hanging a few yards down the road in York Art Gallery.

Giving her support to the Grand Tour, Dame Judi Dench, said:

‘Being from York myself, I cannot think of a more deserving city to receive this magical gift.’

Nicholas Penny, the Director of the National Gallery, added that he was sure ‘people in York will be just as thrilled as those in London to find great masterpieces in unexpected places in the city’.

The Grand Tour is a collaboration between the National Gallery, Hewlett-Packard and the York Gallery of Art. Hewlett-Packard created the high quality colour reproductions on display.

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