One of the things I love to do in London is take a leisurely stroll around the art galleries. Trying to view everything is impossible and I prefer to concentrate on one area of a gallery or perhaps particular artists. A few weeks ago I managed to pop into four galleries during my three day stay!
Tate Britain which opened in 1897 on Millbank, is not only home to historic and contemporary British art (from 1500 to the present day) but it's also an imposing and impressive building with a stunning domed ceiling.....
........and a very impressive staircase too!
The gallery suffered bomb damage during the Second World War but most of the collection was in safe storage elsewhwere.
According to the inscription, these two ladies below were born on the same day, married the same day and gave birth the same day!
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| The Cholmondeley Ladies c.1600-1610 British School 17th century |
George Clausen's 'Brown Eyes' caught my eye!
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| 'Brown Eyes' 1891 |
Turner is one of my favourite British artists and the Tate is known for its extensive collection.
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| 'Chichester Canal' c1828 JMW Turner |
David Hockney is considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century .......
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| Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy 1970-71 David Hockney |
The Tate Modern is based in the former Bankside Power Station and with its international collection of modern and contemporary art it is apparently the most visited modern art gallery in the world!
The huge Turbine Hall is the perfect location to display the American artist Richard Tuttle's largest ever sculpture.
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| 'I Don't Know. The Weave of Textile Language' Richard Tuttle |
I was fascinated by the detail in Meredith Frampton's 'Portrait of a Young Woman' and the way in which the dress drapes so beautifully. It was apparently made up from a Vogue pattern by Frampton's mother.
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| 'Portrait of a Young Woman' 1935 |
When the National Portrait Gallery opened in 1856, it was the first portrait gallery in the world and it now houses portraits of historically important and famous British people.
The portrait of Princess Diana below was painted at the time of her engagemnent to the Prince of Wales in the Yellow Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace ....
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| Diana, Princess of Wales 1981 Bryan Organ |
The collection in this gallery includes photographs, caricatures as well as paintings and sculptures and the portraits are selected according to the importance of the sitter and not the artist!
Around the corner, in Trafalgar Square stands the imposing National Gallery, a favourite of mine both for its artwork and its grand architecture.
Shortly before the outbreak of World War II the paintings were evacuated to Wales and returned in 1945. Here are a few highlights from my visit...
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| 'The Ambassadors' 1533 Hans Holbein The Younger |
Monet's famous painting 'The Water-Lily Pond' brought back memories of our visit to his home and garden in Giverny, Northern France a few years ago.
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| 'The Water-Lily Pond' 1899 Claude Monet |
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| 'The Skiff' (La Yole) 1875 Pierre-Auguste Renoir |
Photos really do not do justice to Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'. Entering the room, I was immediately struck by the yellow glow from this iconic painting. It's worth a visit to the National Gallery to see this one work of art alone!
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| 'Sunflowers' 1888 Vincent Van Gogh |
Van Gogh associated the colour yellow with hope and friendship. He must have been particularly pleased with this painting as he hung it in the guest bedroom at his home in Arles in anticipation of the arrival of his friend, the artist Paul Gauguin.
I was so impressed with my visit to The National Gallery that I even bought a souvenir book!
For one reason or another, it's been a hectic time over here and you will have noticed that I took an unexpected break. I'm hoping to be posting more regularly again and catching up on my blog reading is a priority too ...........
Hi Miss b, strolling through and among such wonderful art galleries would be a highlight. Your photos are stunning. Glad you had a little break too. We all need it from time to time. Happy June!!
ReplyDeleteHugs, CM
I loved visiting the museums the last time I was in London. It's amazing that they're free. Thank you for this lovely virtual tour. Welcome back!
ReplyDeleteRowena @ rolala loves
I haven't been to the Tates for ages! But I can never resist dropping by the NPG; my favourite gallery in London!
ReplyDeletewww.LUXESSED.com
I was in London a few weeks ago during the Chelsea Flower Show. Every time I'm in the City, I make sure to drop by to see one of the exhibits. This time I visited the Savage Beauty show at the V&A. The National Gallery and Tate Modern are my favourites too.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me realize I am SO overdue for a trip to London! I love going to museums and London has SO many great ones. Enjoy the rest of your week, Miss B!! xoxo
ReplyDeleteMiss B, I am always amazed at the rich cultural treasures London holds. I was aware of their great museums, but was unaware of the galleries. I am bookmarking this. I love the Monet water lilly pond painting. I had it in my office once. So tranquil and serene. All of these are beautiful and so rich in history. Thanks for sharing.
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Il faut absolument que je visite le Tate Britain la prochaine que je vais à Londres ! Contente de te revoir sur ton blog. Un petit break est parfois inévitable ou nécessaire...je sais de quoi je parle ;)
ReplyDeleteC'est vrai! Une petite pause est de temps en temps inévitable et quelquefois nécessaire! A bientôt!
DeleteMorning Miss B! Ah, you make me wish to be in London right now and visit these galleries too, how stunning, lucky you! To be honest, when I visited the city, just once, I havent the change to go there. Id love to visit the Tate Britain (the 2 ladies and the brown eyes are so impressive!) and the NPG, Lady D's portrait is fab! Many kisses Miss B, hope u have a happy June! xo
ReplyDeleteJust catching up on my blog reading too. Was away for nearly a month! Thank you as always for dropping by. One thing about London: there's always something to do or something to visit or something to view. Which reminds me of a museum trip soon. Have a lovely weekend soon!
ReplyDeleteBienvenue à nouveau ! Tu me manques déjà depuis cette longue pause ! Ton post est très intéressante, j'adore les musées à London. J'apprécie aussi le fait qui soient gratuits. Je pense que l'art doit être accessible à tout le monde !
ReplyDeleteJe te souhaite une belle weekend !
I just can't wait to visit London. We tried to get there when we were in Paris a couple years ago but didn't have the time. It is on my bucket list for sure! This museum looks fabulous with so many interesting galleries. Glad you picked up a souvenir for yourself :)
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm so pleased you've returned to blogging :) Thanks so much for sharing these highlights from your art explorations - I haven't visited the Tate Britain in a good few years now and this has served as a great reminder to amend that.. time for a visit! :)
ReplyDeleteGabrielle | A Glass Of Ice
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Hi!!
ReplyDeleteI just love the pictures that you chose to show us!! You are spoiled my dear!!LOL. To be so near to visit these wonderful galleries and to see such
beautiful paintings is a dream of mine!!
I hope one day to see these paintings in person!! Thank you for keeping my dream alive!!
Have a great weekend!!
Pam
Those are certainly some awesome art pieces, dear! xoxo
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post very much. It felt like taking a trip in the museum with you and these artworks speak..effortlessly and I imagine myself entranced, just staring for a long time at them.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back Miss B! You posted some of my favorite images here. That one of Diana, in the 1980's caught my eye. She and I were the same age (same hairstyle too) I do think she would be so very proud of her children and how they've grown. Such a loss!
ReplyDeleteI do hope you can join our Lifestyle Linkup that just went live. Would love to have some London in the mix!
Happy Weekend!
xx, Heather
Thanks for the invitation Heather! I've just popped over to your blog to add my link. Delighted to join the Lifestyle Linkup.
DeleteHa!!! I was just at both these galleries last week. I had friends over from Spain and they love doing the gallery circuit when they are in London. They kept reminding me how lucky I was to live in a city with so much "beauty". It often takes a comment like that to make me take stock of my blessings. Lovely post xx #stylefocus
ReplyDeleteGorgeous ,I will definitely go there next year when I head back to London!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all of your photos! I'm going to London this fall, so will definitely have to pop in!
ReplyDeleteGood Morning and it is so nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful highlights from your journey and it is always a joy to see the works of these famous and revered Artists.
Princess Diana-such a beautiful and young spirit who should still be with us.
Thank you for your sweet visit!
xo
Jemma
Oh, these portraits are just wonderful. I just did a recent post about our favorite portraits. The one of Princess Di caught my eye. I admired her, and we both were married and had kids around the same time. I remember well how she looked at the time of her engagement, so young and lovely. Art galleries are always fun to browse through. "Portrait of a Young Woman" is also very nice. Good to have you back, miss b.
ReplyDeletelove, ~Sheri
Oh, how lovely miss b. it's to catch up over here. I miss London art shows and going to the museums. I always enjoy visiting museums in cities where I travel. Savage beauty was one of my most recent favourites, would have loved to have gone to the Chanel exhibit. X/Madison Have a lovely month.
ReplyDeleteFASHION TALES
The first museum looks so interesting! I really enjoyed your photos and thanks so much for the virtual tour! I don't often find museums interesting, but the story about the two sisters, their wedding date and giving a birth date really intrigued me. And the other things as well. Don't worry about blogging! I'm in a similar situation. I don't blog that often because it just happened like this. Blogging must be fun, not an obligation.
ReplyDeletesunandsany
Thank you! I'm so pleased that you appreciated this little tour and the snippets of information. You are absolutely right too about blogging! Sometimes for one reason or another it's necessary to step back and take a little break!
DeleteI love seeing spectacular art anywhere! But yes, if I get a trip out of it, sign me up!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for all these lovely comments and for the warm welcome back! I'm still not back to my usual blogging routine but hope to have a new post very soon!
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