Galleries & Museums
Featured galleries
> Hermitage RoomsThe Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House are an adjunct to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
> Tate ModernThe Tate Modern has everything from Warhol, Picasso and Dalí to modern day contemporary art.
London’s major galleries
Here are London’s best art galleries. They are all free to enter.Hayward Gallery (events) · National Gallery (events) · National Portrait Gallery (events) · Royal Academy of Arts (events) · Tate Britain (events) · Tate Modern (events)
Other art galleries
Bankside Gallery · Courtauld Institute of Art · Dalí Universe · Guildhall Art Gallery · Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art · Photographer’s Gallery · Queen’s Gallery · Saatchi Gallery · Serpentine Gallery · Whitechapel Art Gallery · Wallace Collection
Latest gallery events
“The Empire Strikes Back” — contemporary Indian art29th Jan – 7th May 2010
The Saatchi Gallery’s new exhibition is called “The Empire Strike Back: Indian Art Today”, and showcases new and upcoming artists from the subcontinent.
Van Doesburg exhibition: “Constructing a New World”4th Feb – 16th May 2010
Tate Modern presents the first major UK exhibition devoted to the Dutch artist Theo Van Doesburg. Van Doesburg played a pivotal role in mid-century Modernism, and there will be over 80 different artists on display including works by Alexander Archipenko, Raoul Hausmann, El Lissitzky, Hans Richter, Gerrit Rietveld and Piet Mondrian.
Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective — at Tate Modern10th Feb – 3rd May 2010
Tate Modern will be celebrating one of the most powerful American artists of his generation, in “Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective”. With an emphasis on his uniquely lyrical paintings of the 1940s, the exhibition will examine his extraordinary contribution to the world of Abstract Expressionism.
Michelangelo’s “Dream of Human Life”18th Feb – 16th May 2010
Michelangelo’s “Dream of Human Life” is one of the Courtauld Gallery’s greatest art treasures. It was painted at the height of the artist’s career during the Italian Renaissance, and exemplifies his unrivalled skill and extraordinary powers of invention.
Paul Delaroche’s “Execution of Lady Jane Grey”24th Feb – 23rd May 2010
“Execution of Lady Jane Grey” will be the subject of a special exhibition at the National Gallery. Paul Delaroche’s most famous painting depicts the moment before the young queen, who reigned for just nine days, was put to death by Mary Tudor in 1554.
Henry Moore exhibition, at Tate Britain24th Feb – 8th Aug 2010
Henry Moore is one of the greatest sculptors that Britain has ever produced. Tate Britain’s new exhibition brings together the most comprehensive selection of his work for a generation. The exhibition includes his iconic ‘mother and child’ figures, as well as his celebrated sculptures from the 1950s and 1960s.
Featured museums
> Natural History MuseumThe Natural History Museum covers everything from long-dead dinosaurs to erupting volcanoes.
> British MuseumThe British Museum’s highlights are the Reading Room and ancient Egyptian collection.
London’s major museums
Here are London’s major museums, most of which are free to enter.British Museum (events) · Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms (events) · Imperial War Museum (events) · London Transport Museum (events) · Museum of London (events) · National Maritime Museum (events) · Natural History Museum (events) · Science Museum (events) · Sir John Soane’s Museum (events) · Victoria & Albert Museum (events)
Other museums
Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum · Bank of England Museum · Bramah Tea & Coffee Museum · Britain At War Experience · Clink Prison Museum · Design Museum · Faraday Museum · Florence Nightingale Museum · Guards’ Museum · Hermitage Rooms · Jewel Tower · London Canal Museum · London Fire Brigade Museum · Museum of Garden History · National Army Museum · Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology · Pollock’s Toy Museum · Sherlock Holmes Museum · Wellington Museum
House museums
The following museums are all famous houses, restored to how they would have looked in the occupant’s day…Carlyle’s House · Dickens’ House Museum · Dr. Johnson’s House · Handel House Museum · Keats’ House · Leighton House Museum · Linley Sambourne House
Latest museum events
Undercover: Life in Winston Churchill’s Bunker27th Aug 2009 – 27th Aug 2010
The Cabinet War Rooms are commemorating their 70th-anniversary this year, and to mark the event they are putting on a special exhibition called “Undercover – Life in Churchill’s Bunker”, which will examine the living conditions in the Cabinet War Rooms during the Blitz.
Chopin exhibition: “The Romantic Refugee”1st Mar – 16th May 2010
The British Library will be putting on a special exhibition exploring the life of composer Frédéric Chopin. Original manuscripts of several of his most famous compositions will be shown alongside portraits, letters and historic documents. The exhibition will also include rare recordings of his last five performances.
Kingdom of Ife: “Sculptures from West Africa”4th Mar – 6th Jun 2010
The Kingdom of Ife was a wealthy city-state in Western Africa (in what is now modern Nigeria). This major exhibition at the British Museum features superb pieces of Ife sculpture, drawn almost entirely from the magnificent collections of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria.
Dino Snores — Sleep over at the Museum13th Mar 2010
Have you seen the movie “Night At The Museum”? Well now’s your chance to find out what really goes overnight at the Natural History Museum as you try to sleep in the Central Hall with the Dinosaurs towering nearby. Activities include a torch-lit tour of the famous galleries, and a live bug show by TV presenter Nick Baker.