The National Gallery
Looking at art can be a solitary activity but the enjoyment of art is manifestly increased in the company of other's. When visiting galleries with our families we are tapping into each others experiences and responses, across the generations, and we find that our enjoyment and understanding is greatly enhanced. Great paintings are life affirming things: to discover and enjoy them together as a family is a life affirming activity.
Colin Wiggins, Head of Education
Website: www.nationalgallery.org.uk
The National Gallery is one of the greatest art galleries in the world. Founded by Parliament in 1824, the Gallery houses the nation's collection of Western European paintings from the late thirteenth to the early twentieth century. No other collection possesses such consistent quality, nor better tells the story of Western European painting.
The collection belongs to the nation and serves a diverse public from the UK and overseas. It is open to all, 361 days of the year, free of charge. Between 4 and 5 million people visit the National Gallery each year. Almost all of the 2,300 paintings in the National Gallery's collection are on permanent display. The collection represents the greatest Western European painters including Van Eyck, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Turner, Rembrandt, Degas, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Rubens, Velázquez, Van Dyck, Titian and Bellini. The Gallery's key objectives are to enhance the collection, care for the collection and provide the best possible access to visitors.
The Gallery is pleased to be involved in National Family Week and has the following programme of events and activities available free for families all year round.
Free Family Sundays!
For families with children aged 5-11
Free art workshops
11am, repeated 2pm every Sunday
Have fun drawing, painting or making things at these two-hour artist-led workshops.
For under-5s
Magic Carpet storytelling
10.30am and 11.30am every Sunday
Fly away on the magic carpet for a half-hour story in front of a painting.
School half-terms and holidays
Free workshops and storytelling sessions also take place during the holidays.
No need to book, but places are limited and allocated on arrival. Children must be accompanied to all events.
For young people aged 12-17
Get Into Art!
Artist-led workshops over half-terms and holidays
Booking required
More Gallery fun for all ages available every day
Trails and audio tours
Take a closer look with one of our free trails, or learn more with an audio tour.
ArtStart
Explore the paintings with this free touch-screen guide, create your own tour or zoom in and examine minute details.
For more information please visit our website, where you can also download trails, see children's art and hear "noisy paintings".