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The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour

The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour offers non-London museums, galleries and art centres the opportunity to partner with the National Gallery, collaborating to displaying major works from the collection across the UK. 

Between 2021–23 the National Gallery is partnering with The Beacon Museum, Whitehaven; Carmarthenshire County Museum and Oriel Davies, Newtown, Powys.

From 2021, for the first time in the Masterpiece Tour’s history, the partner venues were selected for a three-year period and the paintings for 2021 and 2023 were chosen jointly by the partners and the National Gallery.

The 2021 masterpiece was Chardin’s 'The House of Cards'. The works selected for years two and three of the partnership are Rembrandt’s 'Saskia van Uylenburgh in Arcadian Costume' and Workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio’s 'Tobias and the Angel'.

The National Gallery collection belongs to the public and we are committed to sharing our collection, enabling access, and engaging with diverse audiences.

Contact us

If you'd like to find out more, please contact:

Email:

nationalpartnerships@nationalgallery.org.uk

We look forward to hearing from you.

The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour: Verrocchio

2 December 2022 – 7 January 2024

Between 2021–23 the National Gallery is partnering with The Beacon Museum, Whitehaven; Carmarthenshire County Museum and Oriel Davies, Newtown, Powys to display one different masterpiece from our collection each year

From 2021, for the first time in the Masterpiece Tour’s history, the partner venues were selected for a three-year period and the painting for 2021 and 2023 will be chosen jointly by the partners and the National Gallery.

The third masterpiece to tour is Workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio’s 'Tobias and the Angel'.

Partner locations

Oriel Davies Gallery

2 December 2022 – 5 March 2023

Newtown, Powys

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The Beacon Museum, Whitehaven

10 March – 4 June 2023

Whitehaven, Cumbria

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Carmarthenshire Museum

8 September 2023 – 7 January 2024

 Abergwili, Carmarthen

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Previous Masterpiece Tours

2022

Between 2021–23 the National Gallery is partnering with The Beacon Museum, Whitehaven; Carmarthenshire County Museum and Oriel Davies, Newtown, Powys to display one different masterpiece from our collection each year

From 2021, for the first time in the Masterpiece Tour’s history, the partner venues were selected for a three-year period and the painting for 2021 and 2023 will be chosen jointly by the partners and the National Gallery.

The second masterpiece to tour was Rembrandt's Saskia van Uylenburgh in Arcadian Costume.

Oriel Davies Gallery 12 March – 26 June 2022

The Beacon Museum, Whitehaven 24 September – 8 January 2023

Carmarthenshire Museum 14 January – 23 April 2023

2021

Between 2021–23 the National Gallery is partnering with The Beacon Museum, Whitehaven; Carmarthenshire County Museum and Oriel Davies, Newtown, Powys to display one different masterpiece from our collection each year

From 2021, for the first time in the Masterpiece Tour’s history, the partner venues were selected for a three-year period and the painting for 2021 and 2023 will be chosen jointly by the partners and the National Gallery.

The first masterpiece to tour was Chardin’s The House of Cards.

Oriel Davies Gallery 10 July – 25 September 2021

The Beacon Museum, Whitehaven 1 October – 23 January 2022

Carmarthenshire Museum 31 January – 1 May 2022

2020

The postponed National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2020 saw Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas’s 'Hélène Rouart in her Father's Study', travel to the following venues:

Gallery Oldham 18 September 2021 – 8 January 2022

Glan-yr-afon/The Riverside 14 May – 3 September 2022

Kirkby Gallery 10 October – 17 December 2022

Supported by

 

2019

Nicolas Poussin’s 'The Triumph of Pan’, one the French master’s most intricate compositions, toured the UK in 2019–20 as part of the Masterpiece Tour. It travelled to the following venues:

Victoria Art Gallery, Bath 11 April – 7 July 2019

York Art Gallery 12 July – 22 September 2019

Auckland Castle 5 October 2019 – 5 January 2020

This opportunity to bring three hugely popular works to the public’s doorstep was made possible by the generous support of Christie’s.

2018

Hans Holbein the Younger’s A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling, a much-loved work from the National Gallery Collection, toured the UK in 2018–19 as part of the Masterpiece Tour. It travelled to the following venues:

The New Art Gallery Walsall 12 January – 22 April 2018
Shetland Museum & Archives 4 May – 15 July 2018
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery 13 October 2018 – 6 January 2019

This opportunity to bring three hugely popular works to the public’s doorstep was made possible by the generous support of Christie’s.

2016

From north to south, Rembrandt's Self Portrait at the Age of 63 , was displayed in Northern Ireland followed by Cumbria and the west country. It travelled to the following venues:

Ulster Museum, Belfast 15 January – 13 March 2016

Abbot Hall, Kendal 19 March – 15 May 2016

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery 21 May – 17 July 2016

2015

In 2015, the Masterpiece Tour saw Canaletto's A Regatta on the Grand Canal tour the UK. It travelled to the following venues:

Victoria Art Gallery, Bath 7 March – 3 May 2015

Compton Verney, Warwickshire 9 May – 21 June 2015

Sunderland Museums and Winter Gardens 11 July – 13 September 2015

2014

Manet's intriguing The Execution of Maximilian toured the UK in some of the earliest displays. It travelled to the following venues:

The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, Canterbury Museums and Galleries 17 January - 16 March 2014

The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle 22 March - 18 May 2014

Mead Gallery, University of Warwick 27 September - 6 December 2014