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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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National Gallery
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(London WC2)
One of only three or four collections in the world where the entire development of western painting, from the 14C to the early 20C, is represented with a balanced selection of masterpieces from every important school. The collection was started relatively late, in 1834, when the government purchased 38 paintings from the estate of John Julius Angerstein (1735–1823).
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He was particularly fond of the 17C (Claude, Van Dyck, Rubens, Rembrandt), as were several other collectors who bequeathed or sold their paintings to the gallery in the early years; it was the directors in the mid-19C who added superb Renaissance paintings of both the Italian and the northern schools. Among the best-known works in the collection are the *Wilton diptych, the *Arnolfini Marriage, the *Leonardo cartoon, The *Ambassadors, the *Rokeby Venus, The *Hay Wain, The *'Fighting Téméraire' and *Rain, steam and speed.
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The main building fronting Trafalgar Square is by *Wilkins and was completed in 1838. Adjoining it on the west is the Sainsbury Wing, an extraordinarily generous gift to the nation by three brothers, John, Simon and Timothy Sainsbury. It was designed by the American architect Robert Venturi (b. 1925) specifically to house the Gallery's exceptional Renaissance collection. The wing opened in 1991.
In World War II, when the paintings had been removed to a cave in a Welsh slate quarry, the National Gallery was the location for a famous series of lunchtime concerts (a total of 1698 between 1939 and 1946) organized by Myra *Hess.
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