Our latest stories
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
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
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
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'
Pissarro's 'Boulevard Montmartre at Night'
Picture of the month April 2023
As chosen by you, Belle Smith explores Pissarro's one-of-a-kind luminous night scene
A change of scene
See your favourite paintings in a new light
Find out how we've redisplayed the collection's Renaissance paintings across the Gallery while the Sainsbury Wing is closed.
Behind the scenes in Conservation
The Ugly Duchess
Britta New reveals surprising discoveries about 'The Ugly Duchess' and how the painting links Leonardo da Vinci to 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'
Bridget Riley's 'Messengers'
Picture of the month March 2023
For Women's History Month, Fiona Alderton looks at a surprising painting by one of our most celebrated female artists
Unexpected views
Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard
Artists and filmmakers Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard explore the cinematic qualities of Paul Delaroche’s ‘The Execution of Lady Jane Grey’
How do you tell the difference between a heroine and a femme fatale?
And why could the woman in this painting be either Judith or Salome?
Dr Maria Alambritis puts the case for both potential subjects of this painting
Guardi's 'Venice'
Picture of the month February 2023
Cultural historian and Italian teacher Rachel Haworth pictures life in Guardi’s Venetian scene
Room 14: One room, 26 paintings
Behind the scenes of an Early Renaissance rehang
Curator Laura Llewellyn works with art handlers to arrange and hang a selection of 15th-century Italian paintings in Room 14
Lucian Freud and Corot's 'Italian Woman'
Picture of the month January 2023
Art historian Isaac Nugent explores Lucian Freud’s connection to Corot’s ‘Italian Woman’
Unexpected views
Alketa Xhafa Mripa on Artemisia Gentileschi's self portrait
Conceptual artist Alketa Xhafa Mripa talks to Rev Dr Ayla Lepine about Artemisia's 'Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria' in relation to the art and religion research theme, Crossing Borders
Why does this painting make some people cry?
and what does this tell us about transcendence?
Revd Dr Ayla Lepine, curator of the virtual exhibition 'Fruits of the Spirit: Art from the Heart' and former Ahmanson Research Associate Curator in Art and Religion at the National Gallery, explores the theme of peace through Monet's 'Water-Lilies'
Freud's paintings of queer and marginalised bodies
Art historian Gregory Salter considers Lucian Freud’s paintings of naked bodies in the age of Section 28, the early years of HIV AIDS, and preoccupations about class and gender
Unexpected views
Chantal Joffe on Titian's 'Diana and Callisto'
Contemporary painter Chantal Joffe describes her first encounter with Titian’s ‘Diana and Callisto’, relating her own experience of the figures it contains to those of Lucian Freud
Piero della Francesca: The Nativity
A special display
We're excited to unveil Piero della Francesca’s ‘Nativity’ following its three-year conservation treatment, and reveal some surprising discoveries
Lippi's 'Annunciation'
Picture of the month December 2022
Anna Murray and Harriet O’Neill explore the theme of light in Lippi’s ‘Annunciation’ – as voted for by you
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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.
Dance to the Music of Our Time
Watch performances by contemporary artists exploring the power of storytelling through dance and movement
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.
'Flowers in a Terracotta Vase'
Jan van Huysum's 'Flowers in a Terracotta Vase' travelled across the UK to a series of unexpected locations, including a food bank, walled garden and covered market. See how people responded to the painting in our short films.
One painting, many voices
From recreating 'Mr and Mrs Andrews' for a wedding invitation to adapting a Titian for the cover of a top-selling album, find out how one painting can mean very different things to different people.
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.
A curated look
Short talks from our curators, filmed from their homes for you to enjoy in yours.
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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