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Terms of use

Last update: 18 October 2021

Set out below are the terms of access and use for (www.nationalgallery.org.uk) (“the Website”) and its content. The Board of Trustees of the National Gallery (“National Gallery”, “we” or “us”) operates the Website. The National Gallery is based at Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN.

These terms will apply each time you access any part of the Website or use any content available on the Website. By using and/or accessing the Website, you are indicating your agreement to be bound by these terms and any others which are stated to govern your use of the Website, such as the privacy notice and cookies policy. If you do not accept these terms you should not access or use the Website.

From time to time we may change these terms and conditions. If you are a frequent visitor to the Website, please review them regularly. We will always state at the top of the terms the date on which the terms were last amended or updated.

You agree to only use the Website and any content on the Website for lawful purposes and in such a way that does not prevent, restrict or otherwise prejudice the use of the Website by anyone else.

Prohibited use of the Website or any content on the Website includes:

  • distributing any type of virus, spyware, malware or other programs or files designed to cause harm, nuisance, disruption, loss and/corruption of data;
  • hacking or attempt to hack any part of the Website or any system run through the Website;
  • transmitting any material which is or may be considered to be defamatory, obscene, racist, indecent or offensive;
  • transmitting any material which harms or causes distress or may harm or cause distress;
  • transmitting unsolicited communications such as junk mail or spam;
  • creating a database that includes material downloaded or obtained from the Website without written permission from the Gallery; or
  • using the Website in any way damages or may damage the reputation of the Gallery or which brings or may bring the Gallery’s Trustees, employees or affiliates into disrepute.

All copyright, trade marks, design rights, patents and other intellectual property rights contained in the Website and all content available on the Website shall remain the property of the National Gallery or its licensors. All such rights are reserved.

The National Gallery name and logo are registered trade marks and belong to the National Gallery. The Website may also feature third-party owned trade marks that the National Gallery is permitted to use. Nothing in these terms gives you any right or permission to use any of these names and/or logos.

Except as set out in these terms or as expressly permitted under copyright law, you may not copy, reproduce, republish, disassemble, decompile, reverse engineer, download, post, broadcast, transmit make available to the public or otherwise use any part of the Website (including any content on the Website) for anything other than your own personal, non-commercial use.

Certain images from the Website are made available for download for non-commercial purposes, subject to a creative commons licence (currently CC BY NC ND 4.0). Key facts in relation to paintings in our collection are made available for download under a creative commons licence (currently CC0).

Content may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium for research, private study, or for internal circulation within an educational organisation (such as schools, colleges, and universities). This is subject to the content being reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context or altered format, such as stretched, compressed, coloured, or altered in any way so as to distort its original format.

Commercial users identifying an image they wish to reproduce on a commercial basis should contact:

The National Gallery Company Picture Library
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7747 5994
Fax: +44 (0)20 7747 5999

Where any of the items on the Website are being republished or copied to others, the source of the content must be identified and the copyright status acknowledged.

For example, “Leonardo, The Virgin of the Rocks, 1491–1508 Photo © The National Gallery, London”

You are welcome to link to the Website from any personal websites, blogs, or channels which are run for your own personal use and on a not for profit basis; however you must not link to the Website in such a way which would infer any form of endorsement, association or sponsorship by us. Please do not display, surround or frame any content from our Website or allow it to be displayed, surrounded, or framed by material that is not from the National Gallery without our prior written consent.  

If you wish to link to the Website from any corporate, commercial or professional websites, please contact us for written permission prior to doing so.

Commercial filming and photography are not allowed in the Gallery without prior written permission. To arrange a location shoot, please contact the National Gallery Commercial Events team by emailing venue.hire@nationalgallery.org.uk or telephoning 020 7747 5931.

From time to time products and services are offered for purchase on our Website (for example ticketed events at the Gallery). Separate terms will apply to your purchase and may in certain circumstances be provided by a third party providing such products and services on our behalf. Please read any third party terms carefully before completing your purchase.

From time to time we may run competitions which may be publicised on the Website. These competitions will have specific terms and conditions and you will be provided with a link to them as part of the entry process.

The Website includes links to other websites and API services (including You Tube API services) that are not owned or controlled by us. We are not responsible and accept no liability for the content or services available on such third-party websites and your use of them is at your own risk and subject to the terms of use of that third party. In addition such websites may collect information from you which will be used by them in accordance with their privacy policies.

We do not endorse or sponsor or otherwise approve of any information, images or further links to other sites that appear in those websites.

If you have found content on our Website, for which you have not given permission (where you would normally be required to give permission), or such content contravenes privacy laws, is obscene, defamatory, or in terms of copyright law is not covered by a limitation or exception, please contact us in writing hello@nationalgallery.org.uk stating the following:

  1. Your contact details;
  2. The full details of the content and where you found it (exact and full web address);
  3. If your concern involves copyright or other intellectual property rights, proof that you are the rights holder or their authorized representative; and
  4. The reason for your request e.g. copyright, privacy, data protection, obscenity or defamation.

We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 10 working days of receiving your written objection. Upon receipt of a valid complaint we will remove the content from our Website while the matter is being investigated further.

While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the content on the Website, we accept no responsibility for any errors, omissions, or inaccurate content on the Website and we reserve the right to make changes to the content on the Website from time to time.

Whilst we try to make the Website available without interruption, we reserve the right to suspend or withdraw access, without notice to either the whole or part of the Website for any reason and to schedule occasional downtime for maintenance.

Every effort is made to ensure downloadable content is free from viruses, spyware or other malware; however we accept no liability for damages resulting from virus infection. We cannot guarantee that the use of the Website will be virus-free or that use of the Website will not affect other software or operating systems used to access the Website.

National Gallery content, including the information, names, images, logos relating to the National Gallery, its products and services is provided “as is”. To the extent permitted by law, we exclude all representations and warranties (express or implied) including the implied warranties of satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security, and accuracy.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence. Subject to the foregoing, we shall not be liable for any of the following losses or damages (whether they were foreseen, foreseeable, known or otherwise) loss of data, business, opportunity, goodwill or injury to reputation, profit or revenue and any special, incidental, consequential, punitive, exemplary losses, damages, or costs arising from your use of the Website or any content on the Website, or any services provided through the Website.

Please see here for our Privacy notice and Cookies policy.

Please read our Freedom of Information policy to find out what kind of information we publish and how regularly and for details on how to submit a Freedom of Information request.

If any part of these terms is found to be illegal, invalid, or otherwise unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the term(s) in question will be severed, but the remaining terms will survive and continue in force.

The delay or failure of the National Gallery to enforce or exercise any right in these terms does not constitute a waiver of such rights.

These terms, their subject matter and formation are governed by English law and you agree with us to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

If you are using the Website from outside England and Wales, other laws may apply to your use of the Website. We operate the Website from within the United Kingdom. We are not subject to local laws applicable in your country and the Website may not be compliant with those local laws. You should not access or use the Website unless you are happy with this position.

If you have any queries about your use of the Website or any information on the Website, please contact hello@nationalgallery.org.uk.

All tickets to the National Gallery are subject to these ticketing terms 

These terms and conditions apply to all tickets for entry to the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square, London (the ‘Gallery’). In these terms, the ‘National Gallery’, ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ refers to the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery and the ‘you’ and ‘your’ refers to the person who has booked, or is holding, the relevant ticket.

These terms apply to the following types of ticket (together ‘Tickets’) and any donation made in relation to such Tickets:

  • Gallery Entry Tickets: being for general admission to the Gallery’s permanent collection;
  • Exhibition Tickets: being for entry into the Gallery’s temporary and paid-for exhibitions; and
  • Event Tickets: being for entry into on-site and online Gallery events

Please note in particular the National Gallery’s position regarding refunds in Section 2 below and our exclusions and limitations of liability in Section 6 below.

1. Terms for all Tickets

Our acceptance of your order of any Ticket will take place when we email you a booking confirmation to accept it, and we have received your payment in full, at which point a contract will come into existence between you and us.

All persons using such Tickets agree to be bound to these terms as a condition of entry to the Gallery, regardless as to whether or not they were the booker of the Tickets.

Tickets may be booked online or at the ticket desk at the Gallery’s entrance. Certain data is collected when you book a ticket online which shall be processed in accordance with the Gallery’s privacy notice. Tickets may be booked without providing personal data at the Gallery’s entrance.

At this time the maximum number of Tickets which may be booked for Gallery Entry in a single transaction is 30 and an exhibition is 6. Anything described as a “digital event” is limited to one Ticket per household.

Tickets shall be provided for an allotted time for entry to the Gallery and each ticket is only valid for one admission. Tickets are valid only for the date and time stated on your ticket. Entrance is in 15-minute windows; for instance, if you have a 11am Ticket you will be allowed entrance between 11am and 11.15am. To ensure visitors have the very best experience with us, the Gallery may stagger visitor entry within the time slot they have booked.

Tickets must be presented at the entrance to the Gallery, unless issued at the Gallery entrance. All exhibition or event tickets must be presented at the entrance to an exhibition or event and must be presented to our staff (or our representatives) on a mobile device or on a print out. Your Ticket will be scanned.

For further information in relation to our use of your personal data for this purpose please see our privacy notice.

In respect of all Tickets, you agree:

  • if you have booked the Tickets you confirm that you are aged 13 or over and are otherwise able to enter into these Ticketing Terms;
  • Children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over who shall be held responsible for the acts of the children they accompany(for the avoidance of doubt, accompanying adults also require a separate ticket);
  • to be bound by the terms of our Admissions Policy, although these Ticketing Terms shall take precedence;
  • to comply with all directions given by us or our representatives. This may include:
    • directions in relation to health and safety and, in particular, requirements in respect of the containment of the Coronavirus pandemic with regards to social distancing, use of facilities, wearing of personal protective equipment or use of hygiene products (as are in force from time to time);
    • checks and regulations in relation to security which may include searches of bags, clothing and other items on entry and exit and to confiscate items which may be illegal, cause danger or disruption to the Gallery, the works or other visitors or any other terms set out in our Admissions Policy or deny entry;
    • requirements in respect of queuing; and
    • the use of designated routes within the Gallery;
  • you shall remain within the public areas of the Gallery;
  • please note carefully the Gallery’s bag size policy which forms part of our Admission Policy as you will not be allowed to enter the Gallery with an oversized bag;
  • the consumption of food and drink unless otherwise indicated is strictly prohibited outside of designated food service areas;
  • smoking, including electronic cigarettes, is strictly prohibited throughout the Gallery including in the queue for entry;
  • non‑commercial use of photographic, film and video equipment is permitted unless otherwise indicated - but the use of flash or tripods is prohibited across the Gallery;
  • any ticket re-sold or transferred for profit or commercial gain, or otherwise obtained in breach of these terms and conditions, shall be void and the holder may be refused entry or ejected from the Gallery. Void tickets are non-refundable;
  • commercial, promotional and trading activities are not permitted at the Gallery without our express prior written permission; and
  • you are a natural person and not a robot (or bot).

The National Gallery reserves the right, absolutely and at its sole discretion to:

  • refuse admission to the Gallery, including if you arrive late or on the wrong day or after our opening hours, and our decision shall be final and binding;
  • eject, suspend or cut short the visit any person at any time for failure to comply with these Ticketing Terms, if you commit a criminal offence, are under the influence of drugs or excessive alcohol, behave in an anti-social manner or in a way which causes a public nuisance; and
  • cancel any Ticket (and if applicable refund or offer an alternative visit date in respect of Exhibition Tickets as further described below). In particular, if the National Gallery confirms or suspects any resale of tickets or systematic purchase by robot or other person or organisation.

2.Terms for Exhibition Tickets and Event Tickets

The following terms apply to Exhibition Tickets and Event Tickets:

General

Before your Ticket booking is finalised, you will be asked to confirm that the personal details you have provided to us and your ticket requirements are correct. Once your order has been confirmed by you, we cannot accept responsibility for or offer any refunds arising as a result of incorrect information provided by you at the time of ordering your ticket(s).

Refunds/ Exchanges

Unfortunately, we cannot offer refunds, exchanges, or account credit on tickets unless the Gallery is closed due to an emergency, or if an event (or exhibition time slot) is cancelled by the Gallery. The Gallery will not refund or reimburse tickets for any other reason.

In the event of such closure or cancellation, customers will be provided with a credit on their account equivalent to the cost of the ticket. Customers shall also be given the option of receiving a refund of the cost of the ticket; customers may use such a credit to book an alternative date for the Event, if practicable. The Gallery may give customers the opportunity to make a donation to the gallery instead.

The Gallery is unable to refund donations made as part of any ticket purchase.

Tickets will not be cancelled or refunded as a result of adverse weather conditions if an event or exhibition still goes ahead.

Any credit shall be valid for a year from the date the credit was issued and may be used on exhibition, event tickets or Membership purchases online and in the Gallery.

These terms and conditions do not affect your statutory rights as a consumer.

Resale

Tickets are non-transferrable and cannot be resold. Any Tickets found to have been offered for resale will be cancelled without refund and admission will be refused to the bearer.

In Their Footsteps: Artists in London terms

Customers with Health Conditions

We will do our best to accommodate for any access needs, but our walk in the third week of the course may not be suitable for people with certain disabilities, medical conditions or significantly reduced mobility. Should you suffer from any disability, medical condition or significant reduction in mobility which may affect your or other clients' tours, you must provide full verbal and written details at the time you book, including any specific requirements you have. Additionally, at the time you book, you must provide verbal and written confirmation that all assistance required will be provided by your companion(s). You must also notify us of any adverse changes or deterioration in the disability or medical condition, or development of any disability or medical condition or material reduction in your mobility after booking. If we reasonably believe we are unable to accommodate the needs or restrictions of any particular customer or where, in our reasonable opinion, the medical condition, disability or reduced mobility of the customer concerned is likely to have a significant adverse effect on other customers. We further reserve the right to cancel your tickets (and impose cancellation charges if we are not fully advised of any relevant disability or medical condition or significant reduction in mobility at the time the booking is made and/or promptly notified of any development, adverse change or deterioration occurring after booking.) Please email education@nationalgallery.org.uk to alert us of any access needs or if you have any questions about the course prior to booking.

Health and Safety

We begin the walk with a safety briefing. Tour participants are responsible for their own personal safety at all times. We ask that you pay attention when crossing roads and that you are mindful of cyclists who may also use some of the routes we take. Please have your own personal safety in mind at all time. We also ask you to be aware of any dangers, such as loose paving stones, traffic and road work.

Behaviour

We reserve the right to refuse participation in a tour to anyone who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. We also ask that you do not bring alcohol to drink on the tour as the consumption of alcohol in certain parts of London is against the local by-laws. Anyone whose behaviour is disruptive or is spoiling the enjoyment of a tour for other tour participants will be asked to leave the tour. No refunds will be given should this happen. If any customer behaving in such a way as to cause or be likely (in our reasonable opinion or the reasonable opinion of any person in authority), to cause offence, danger, damage, significant discomfort or distress to others, we reserve the right to terminate that person's walk and will ask him/her to leave the tour. No refunds will be given should this happen.

IP

You may not, without prior consent, make any audio or video recordings of any part of the tour commentary.

3. Concessions for Exhibition Tickets

The following persons are entitled to discounted or free Exhibition Tickets:

  • Under-18s are entitled to a free Exhibition Ticket when accompanied by a paying adult. Each paying adult can bring up to four free under-18s with them into the Exhibition. Free under-18 tickets must be booked alongside a paid ticket. On the day of your visit, you may be required to show evidence of your age in order to validate your E-Tickets and obtain entry to the Exhibition;
  • Disabled persons are entitled to a free carer Exhibition Ticket (the additional carer Ticket may be booked online), when accompanying a paying disabled adult ticket holder;
  • Jobseekers can receive a discounted ticket upon proof of eligibility ID;
  • Students can receive a discounted ticket upon proof of a valid NUS card; and
  • Art Fund Members can receive a discounted ticket upon proof of a valid Art Pass Card.
  • All concession tickets are subject to proof of eligibility (with requisite identification) prior to entry to the event or exhibition.

4. Members and Entry for Members to Exhibitions

Members should book General Entry Tickets, Exhibition Tickets and Event Tickets online through our website. It is critical that Members aim to do this to enable us to manage capacity within the Gallery.

Based on your Membership type, you can reserve the following number of Tickets per Exhibition:

Member: 1 (for the named Membership Card holder only)

Member & Guest: 2 (for the named Membership Card holder and a guest only)

Joint Membership: 2 (for either or both of the two named Joint Membership Card holders only)

Joint Membership & Guests: 4 (for either or both of the two named Joint Membership Card holders and up to two guests only)

Members can book a Member Ticket by logging into their account on the National Gallery website or by visiting one of the desks in the Gallery.

For the avoidance of doubt, at least one named Membership Card holder must accompany each guest to an exhibition.

On the day redemption of exhibition tickets for Membership offer

Exhibition Ticket holders can redeem the price of their Exhibition Ticket against the cost of a new Membership. This is only valid upon presentation of an Exhibition Ticket at the desk, on the same day as the visit to the Exhibition. After the initial year, the price of the Membership will return to the standard rate at the time of renewal. To use this offer please visit the Membership/ticket desk.

Based on your chosen Membership type, you can redeem the following number of tickets per Membership:

Member: 1 ticket

Member & Guest: 1 ticket

Joint Membership: 2 tickets

Joint Membership & Guests: 2 tickets

The National Gallery reserves the right to amend the terms and conditions of this offer at any time and without notice.

5. Donations and Gift Aid

Donations can be added to any Ticket booking. The National Gallery is extremely grateful for any such donations.

Gift Aid can be applied to any donations free of charge to you if you are a UK taxpayer, meaning that an additional 25% is added to the value of a donation through HMRC’s refunding of your tax. To add gift aid to a donation, a ‘Gift Aid’ declaration is required by you. This can be given online, at the ticket desk, via post or over the phone. The National Gallery’s use of the information provided is governed by our privacy notice.

6. Data Protection

The National Gallery notified the Information Commissioner’s Office of its processing of your data and shall process your date in accordance with the Data Protection 2018 and relevant associated legislation and statutory guidance (including the General Data Protection Regulation).

By booking a Ticket you agree to our processing of your personal data in accordance with our privacy notice.

7. Liability

Your liability: You acknowledge that you will be liable to us for any breach of these terms and conditions and any damage caused by you to the Gallery or to any of its contents or for any injury caused to any of our staff or representatives, or to other visitors, during your visit. You further agree that:

  • where you are the responsible adult, you shall also be responsible for all children that you accompany; and
  • where you are the organiser of a party, you shall be jointly and severally liable (with the applicable visitor(s)) for any damage caused by the visitors in your party;

Our liability:

Subject to the limitations and exclusions set out below, the National Gallery is responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by us. If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking this contract or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both we and you knew it might happen.

However, please note that:

Personal arrangements including travel, accommodation or hospitality relating to the Ticket which have been arranged by you (or a third party who is not us) are at your own risk. Our liability for the cancellation of rescheduling of an event or an exhibition and your Ticket shall be limited to the refund set out in Section 2 above.

In respect of any other loss or damage, except in respect of death or personal injury caused by our negligence (or any other liability that cannot, as a matter of law be excluded or limited):

  • we will not be liable for any breaches of these terms or delays arising from any event outside our control, including (but not limited to) fire, flood, storm, strikes, riots, civil commotion, material disaster, unscheduled State occasions, war or acts of governmental or parliamentary authority;
  • we shall not be liable for any costs, damage or loss you incur as a result of your being refused entry to, or ejected from, the Gallery for a breach of these terms; and
  • we shall not be responsible for the theft, loss or damage to your personal property brought into the Gallery.

8. Payment and Pricing

We take payment from you for your Tickets (if applicable) at the point of purchase, if in person, or following our confirmation email if you have provided your payment details online.

It is always possible that, despite our best efforts, some of the Tickets we sell may be incorrectly priced. We will normally check prices before accepting your order so that, where the Ticket’s correct price at your order date is less than our stated price at your order date, we will contact you to discuss payment of the difference or cancellation of the Ticket(s). If the product's correct price at your order date is higher than the price stated to you, we will contact you for your instructions before we accept your order.

If we accept and process your order where a pricing error is obvious and unmistakeable and could reasonably have been recognised by you as a mispricing, we may end the contract, refund you any sums you have paid and cancel the Tickets we have issued to you.

9. Contact

The National Gallery strongly encourages visitors to book tickets online through the creation of an account on its website. If you attend the Gallery in person without a Ticket we may require you to book your Ticket online through a mobile device before permitting your entry, particularly at busy times.

If you have a ticket enquiry or cannot book online: Tickets can be booked by emailing tickets@nationalgallery.org.uk. Bookings are not confirmed until you have received a booking confirmation.

10. Accessibility

Please contact us using the above details if you require assistance in booking your visit or when at the Gallery.

11. Other important terms

These terms apply to all admissions and supersede any earlier terms and all terms and conditions applying to previous years. All other terms and conditions whether express or implied are hereby excluded. These terms may not be waived or amended without our written consent.

We may transfer this agreement to someone else. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another organisation. [We will always tell you in writing if this happens and we will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights under the contract.

If a court finds part of this contract illegal, the rest will continue in force. Each of the paragraphs of these terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

Which laws apply to this contract and where you may bring legal proceedings. These terms are governed by English law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in the English courts. If you live in Scotland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in either the Scottish or the English courts. If you live in Northern Ireland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in either the Northern Irish or the English courts.

These terms were updated in 29/04/2022

We may update or change these terms from time to time

If you have purchased a catalogue for click and collect you can find delivery information in our terms and conditions.

You can find out more about how click and collect works in our FAQs.

If you have bought a ticket and catalogue in the same order the catalogue will be ready for collection for the date of your visit.

Audio Guides which have been purchased in advance can be collected on the visit date from the exhibition entrance.