National Gallery London Private Guided Tours

The National Gallery, located in Trafalgar Square, London, is an art museum built in 1824. It is home to over 2300 paintings from the 13th century through to the 20th century. With over 6 million visitors a year, the National Gallery is the sixth most visited art museum in the world. Private donations account for two-thirds of museum’s entire collection. The National Gallery’s collection has been housed in three different buildings. The current building was designed by William Wilkins – an architect who also designed several Cambridge colleges.

During the early 20th century, an agricultural crisis plagued the nation, causing many rich families to sell their art collections. Outpriced by American buyers, the British charity 'National Art Collections Fund' was founded to combat the flow of artworks heading to the United States. In 1914, a National Gallery painting (the Rokeby Venus) deemed offensive to women, was damaged by Suffragette activists in protest of the arrest of Emmeline Pankhurst. Following attacks resulted in the National Gallery being shut until the start of World War One, when the Suffragettes called for an end to violence to defeat the Central Powers.