Bringing art to the people in unexpected places!
August 6th, 2007 by Zofia
Not long ago I was walking through central London with a few friends and I had to do a double take as we walked past this very boring looking brick building, was I seeing things or did that wall have a huge painting by a famous French Neoclassical painter, gold frame and all? Well no one else noticed, but then we turned another corner and there was a huge pastoral scene painted by a famous British artist, now I really was confused so I asked the others that I was with (one of whom has been living in London for over a year!) and neither person had noticed these paintings (now or any other time for that matter)!
Well, I wanted to know more. On closer inspection they are very nicely reproduced images set in elaborate and ornate frames as the originals might be found at the National Gallery down the road in Trafalgar Square. As it turns out, I was not going crazy and these works were supposed to be there as were about 40 others. The National Gallery have set up The Grand Tour:
This summer, the National Gallery has set a collection of old master paintings free in the streets of London. Masterpieces from Caravaggio to Constable are vying for position amongst the bustling streets. From Soho to Seven Dials we’re celebrating the richness, diversity and stories of the National Gallery’s collection.
There is actually a pamphlet which tells you what works are out there and where to find them – even suggesting different ‘Grand Tours’ you could do depending on how much time you had available.
I think this is a stroke of genius, what a marvelous way to get art out of the confines of the gallery and out to the public. There are wall plaques next to each painting so if you were like me and did happen to notice these ‘indoor’ paintings hanging outdoors then you would be able to get a full rundown on what the work is and why it is there! Great marketing campaign and a great way to help dissolve the unspoken fear some people have of going into a gallery, seeing it in the streeet like this would surely make people feel more confident to walk into the gallery buiding because they now know what they can expect to find inside! Very cleaver indeed.
So here are a few works I went and took photos of yesterday – I will leave the titles and artists a mystery and challenge you to work it out and let me know your thoughts: (art history girls – no cheating, you should know these ones, they are pretty easy!)
