When the Guildhall Art Gallery in the heart of the City of London was first built in 1885 it was one of the first public galleries in London. Later, it was to become one of the most significant collections of Victorian paintings in the world.
The original gallery building was destroyed in the Blitz, but fortunately most of the collection survived. In 1999 the gallery reopened in a dynamic purpose-built building designed by the architect Richard Gilbert Scott. During the building of this new gallery the remains of London’s Roman amphitheatre were discovered, and these are now also incorporated into the site.
To celebrate the gallery’s 15th anniversary, the main collection has been reviewed and rehung. The overall number of paintings on display has now doubled, with many artworks being brought out of store. All this has been achieved without the galleries feeling crowded – an impressive feat.
On arrival, visitors are drawn up the central stairs into the generous main gallery. This room has striking green walls – a period colour called, appropriately, Aesthetic Movement green.
The paintings are hung high in a dense multilayered style. Bright, well-focused lighting gives the space a warm, inviting feel. This many works of art could feel overwhelming in a smaller room, but the size of the gallery allows visitors to step back and enjoy the higher paintings and good-quality seating encourages people to linger.
The dark green walls make a great background for the beautiful Victorian paintings on display, with many famous names well represented, including John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt and Frank Holl. The striking painting of La Ghirlandata by Rossetti works especially well against the walls.
Themed sections
Approached in this way, the collection appeared to lack any introduction, so, turning left, I plunged into the other thematic displays. However, towards the end of my visit I discovered – hidden around a corner – a large introductory graphic explaining how the collection had come together and, later still, a useful gallery leaflet with a map.
I appreciate the Guildhall does not want to spoil the open vista of the gallery entrance with an introductory panel there, but signage or staff directions to either the graphic or leaflet would have enhanced the visit.
The collection is divided into 10 short themes. These are well chosen to engage a modern visitor on a universal topic, and include Leisure, Work, Beauty and Faith. Each theme is illustrated with a graphic icon, such as a mirror for Beauty and a candle for Faith, as well as a wall text introducing it. One section shows clearly how
Victorian artists turned to modern life for inspiration for their paintings. The displays also cover changes in society, as well as artistic movements such as the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Interpretation
I especially enjoyed the Love section, which explores some of the challenges of love in Victorian England. These included the pressures on young women to become dutiful wives and mothers and the risks associated with becoming a “fallen” woman.
Visitors are required to make the connection between the themes and the actual paintings themselves, as these are captioned solely with title, artist and date. Some of the captions veer towards the low side for older visitors.
With the thematic texts and the tendency of Victorian artists to provide long descriptive titles, the gallery can just about get away without further interpretation. But, as a non-specialist, I would have preferred more information on each painting.
During my visit, a group was enjoying a private guided tour from an eloquent guide who was providing exactly the background on the highlighted paintings that I was missing. The staff told me that these public introductory tours are available on Fridays, and I suspect one of them would add a great deal to the visitor experience.
I imagine the curators didn’t want to clutter the beautiful displays with longer captions, but on non-tour days this extra layer of interpretation could perhaps be delivered through gallery folders or, budget permitting, an audio tour or app (although the gallery does feature on the City Visitor Trail app).
The vast 18th-century history painting, The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar by John Singleton Copley (the largest easel painting in the UK), remains in the space designed for it in 1999 and, although it doesn’t fit easily with the revised themes of the gallery, it doesn’t feel out of place. Two terminals also allow access to a digital photo library, Collage, which has other images from the huge collection.
Amphitheatre
Downstairs there are smaller, but similarly satisfying, sections. City Of London: Plenty and Progress focuses on themes relevant to the new city, including money, wealth and trade. I’m sure in time this could make a fascinating larger display.
It includes a striking modern metal work, called Plenty and Progress, by Mark Titchner, acquired as part of the City of London Corporation’s new collecting policy. Picturing London: 400 Years has many interesting and diverse works on the history of London. And Landscapes of Sir Matthew Smith will feature a changing display of paintings from this artist.
These lower spaces have all been painted a dark blue, which sets off the art beautifully, and the undercroft gallery in particular is a fabulous and well-lit space. However, in these galleries the lack of interpretive captions was even more of a problem than in those with the Victorian paintings.
With only brief titles to work from, I was left wondering just what is a judge of the common pleas, or what exactly is said in the mayoralty oath. I’m sure these phrases would present further issues to foreign visitors.
I could not resist finishing my visit with a peek into the Roman amphitheatre. This has to rank as one of London’s most special places. With a simple but atmospheric interpretation conjuring up the remaining circle of the amphitheatre, it is well worth a visit after you have enjoyed the rest of the gallery.
Cressida Diez-Finch is the interpretation manager (London and the South East), for English Heritage
Cost: £600,000
Funder: City of London Corporation
Conservation: in-house
Interpretation/branding: in-house; Crescent Lodge
Colour scheme: in-house; Metaphor
Main contractor: Sykes
Art handling: Crown Fine Art
Lighting design: DPA Lighting Design
Graphics/signage: Either; Kemp
The original gallery building was destroyed in the Blitz, but fortunately most of the collection survived. In 1999 the gallery reopened in a dynamic purpose-built building designed by the architect Richard Gilbert Scott. During the building of this new gallery the remains of London’s Roman amphitheatre were discovered, and these are now also incorporated into the site.
To celebrate the gallery’s 15th anniversary, the main collection has been reviewed and rehung. The overall number of paintings on display has now doubled, with many artworks being brought out of store. All this has been achieved without the galleries feeling crowded – an impressive feat.
On arrival, visitors are drawn up the central stairs into the generous main gallery. This room has striking green walls – a period colour called, appropriately, Aesthetic Movement green.
The paintings are hung high in a dense multilayered style. Bright, well-focused lighting gives the space a warm, inviting feel. This many works of art could feel overwhelming in a smaller room, but the size of the gallery allows visitors to step back and enjoy the higher paintings and good-quality seating encourages people to linger.
The dark green walls make a great background for the beautiful Victorian paintings on display, with many famous names well represented, including John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt and Frank Holl. The striking painting of La Ghirlandata by Rossetti works especially well against the walls.
Themed sections
Approached in this way, the collection appeared to lack any introduction, so, turning left, I plunged into the other thematic displays. However, towards the end of my visit I discovered – hidden around a corner – a large introductory graphic explaining how the collection had come together and, later still, a useful gallery leaflet with a map.
I appreciate the Guildhall does not want to spoil the open vista of the gallery entrance with an introductory panel there, but signage or staff directions to either the graphic or leaflet would have enhanced the visit.
The collection is divided into 10 short themes. These are well chosen to engage a modern visitor on a universal topic, and include Leisure, Work, Beauty and Faith. Each theme is illustrated with a graphic icon, such as a mirror for Beauty and a candle for Faith, as well as a wall text introducing it. One section shows clearly how
Victorian artists turned to modern life for inspiration for their paintings. The displays also cover changes in society, as well as artistic movements such as the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Interpretation
I especially enjoyed the Love section, which explores some of the challenges of love in Victorian England. These included the pressures on young women to become dutiful wives and mothers and the risks associated with becoming a “fallen” woman.
Visitors are required to make the connection between the themes and the actual paintings themselves, as these are captioned solely with title, artist and date. Some of the captions veer towards the low side for older visitors.
With the thematic texts and the tendency of Victorian artists to provide long descriptive titles, the gallery can just about get away without further interpretation. But, as a non-specialist, I would have preferred more information on each painting.
During my visit, a group was enjoying a private guided tour from an eloquent guide who was providing exactly the background on the highlighted paintings that I was missing. The staff told me that these public introductory tours are available on Fridays, and I suspect one of them would add a great deal to the visitor experience.
I imagine the curators didn’t want to clutter the beautiful displays with longer captions, but on non-tour days this extra layer of interpretation could perhaps be delivered through gallery folders or, budget permitting, an audio tour or app (although the gallery does feature on the City Visitor Trail app).
The vast 18th-century history painting, The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar by John Singleton Copley (the largest easel painting in the UK), remains in the space designed for it in 1999 and, although it doesn’t fit easily with the revised themes of the gallery, it doesn’t feel out of place. Two terminals also allow access to a digital photo library, Collage, which has other images from the huge collection.
Amphitheatre
Downstairs there are smaller, but similarly satisfying, sections. City Of London: Plenty and Progress focuses on themes relevant to the new city, including money, wealth and trade. I’m sure in time this could make a fascinating larger display.
It includes a striking modern metal work, called Plenty and Progress, by Mark Titchner, acquired as part of the City of London Corporation’s new collecting policy. Picturing London: 400 Years has many interesting and diverse works on the history of London. And Landscapes of Sir Matthew Smith will feature a changing display of paintings from this artist.
These lower spaces have all been painted a dark blue, which sets off the art beautifully, and the undercroft gallery in particular is a fabulous and well-lit space. However, in these galleries the lack of interpretive captions was even more of a problem than in those with the Victorian paintings.
With only brief titles to work from, I was left wondering just what is a judge of the common pleas, or what exactly is said in the mayoralty oath. I’m sure these phrases would present further issues to foreign visitors.
I could not resist finishing my visit with a peek into the Roman amphitheatre. This has to rank as one of London’s most special places. With a simple but atmospheric interpretation conjuring up the remaining circle of the amphitheatre, it is well worth a visit after you have enjoyed the rest of the gallery.
Cressida Diez-Finch is the interpretation manager (London and the South East), for English Heritage
Project data
Cost: £600,000
Funder: City of London Corporation
Conservation: in-house
Interpretation/branding: in-house; Crescent Lodge
Colour scheme: in-house; Metaphor
Main contractor: Sykes
Art handling: Crown Fine Art
Lighting design: DPA Lighting Design
Graphics/signage: Either; Kemp
