The National Portrait Gallery's Grand Reopening: A Masterpiece Unveiled

Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @londonvisited
With the National Portrait Gallery reopening after three years of renovations we visited for the opening of this amazing gallery in the heart of London.
Join us as we see incredible masterpieces from the 1500's that look like they were only painted yesterday....
We hope you enjoyed this video. Have you been here before or do you have your own hidden little treasure in London you’d like to share?
If so please let us know in the comments below.
If you would like to become a 'Crown Jewel' and support us in our videos and podcasts, plus get more involved in the channel then jump over to Patreon on the link below to learn more:
/ londonvisited
We are London Visited, helping you to enjoy London more, through our videos and tips, either as a new visitor or as a fan of London!
Join us on our website London Visited (londonvisited.co.uk) for more information pictures and details about our channel.
Please remember to like & share our video with your friends and we would love you to subscribe to our channel, where we upload a new video each week, all featuring this great City. Whether you live nearby, are planning on visited for a holiday, have visited before or just love London we hope you enjoy our channel.
If you are coming to London and want any advice or help with things to do or places to see then please email Steve direct at [e-mail]
We can also be contacted on the following:
Twitter - / londonvisited
Facebook - / thelondonvisited
Instagram - / londonvisited
LinkedIn - / steveatkins-linnell
Also, don’t forget we now publish a weekly podcast that goes deeper into some of the places that we have featured on this KZbin channel. It is available for free on all good podcast apps, including iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify & TuneIn - alternatively please see the link below:
londonvisited.libsyn.com/
Please find a link below to some of our London Visited merchandise:
my-store-e35024.creator-sprin...
Thanks for watching and please do subscribe for more videos each week on our channel.

[@maryharvey724]

i can't wait to visit. Im sure Q Elizabeth is there. Good job saving the Bronte sisters.

[@LondonVisited]

Yes she is and this is a fantastic place to visit 👍😀

[@irmawesterback2930]

Wonderful video, thank you very much🖼️🎨.

[@LondonVisited]

Thanks for watching Irma 🎨🖌️

[@paulajarman9314]

It's amazing to think just how old those paintings are.

[@LondonVisited]

Totally incredible to think isn't it! :)

[@channysmith83]

Now that's is what you call art.

[@LondonVisited]

It is and nothing rusty in sight 😂😂😂👍😀

[@channysmith83]

@@LondonVisited 😂😂😂😂

[@jackieakelly4107]

The NPG is one of my most favourite places in London, thanks for showing, I'm looking forward to visiting again. Very pleased to see the renovations didn't change too much, love that there is a lot more light flooding into to some rooms. The Tudor room has always been a stand out for me.

[@LondonVisited]

Enjoy it when you get there, amazing place :)

[@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits]

What a grand and beautiful gift to England! Also, the world at large! They did a beautiful job making this National Portrait Gallery building. It serves the many antique and grand portraits being in such a regal building of great architectural, design, structure, and material. White marble and palatial windows! The grand halls with the gorgeous walls thoughtfully painted in colors to enhance the paintings and make them come alive. I am so happy they built this way and not a modern style building. Whew. I enjoyed seeing all the monarch portraits as well as famous icons in English history. I just loved the Tudor room. My Mother gave me a lovely wonderful hard covered large illustrated book called "The Tudor Chronicles". And these paintings are featured in the book. Fabulous. Also, I loved the William and Mary paintings as well as King Charles II. I absolutely loved the newly discovered Bronte sisters! My Mother introduced me to the Bronte sisters when I was a little girl, and love them ever since. And yes, the gorgeous Queen Victoria portrait is regal indeed! Now! Now! - it is not fair to ask "which is your favorite painting in the whole gallery"! You know not may people can do that. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣The café area is so delightful. I would love to have a rest and a bite there between my touring. I just LOVED the floor at 13:37! Gorgeous. I cannot name who is missing from British life. From British life?? No way can I answer that one. This is on the bucket list. However, I will skip the modern floor of celebrities on the bottom. Enjoyed this one!! Blessings.

[@LondonVisited]

Luana, Fantastic that you have that book and special as well from your mother. Incredible to think that these are the original paintings and just sitting here so you can see them so up close. Wow now that is a question! I think it would have to be the first Queen Elizabeth I painting that was sitting alone. The colour and the detail made me actually think it was a reproduction! Thanks for watching and commenting as always 👍😀

[@LondonVisited]

Actually that unfolded Brontë sisters one is quite incredible, just demonstrated what can happen to the life of art! 😂

[@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits]

@@LondonVisited Ah yes! Now I get it. Thank you!!

[@janicesmyth1713]

Marvellous I shall definitely be going.

[@MiaFeigelsonGallery]

@londonvisited, thank you so very much for this amazing Video ! Whenever I had the chance of travelling to London, I never missed the chance of visiting the National Portrait Gallery whose collection is absolutely brilliant ! You've asked us which portraits featured in your video we like best, ok, I'll start: the portraits of Queen Elizabeth I, Katherine Parr, Edward VI, William Shakespeare, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mai (Omai) by Sir Joshua Reynolds, the portrait of Emily Brontë (the piece of a painting which has just been found), Charles Darwin by John Collier, John Clare by William Hilton, John Constable by Ramsay Reinagle, Emma, Lady Hamilton by George Romney, William Wordsworth by Benjamin Haydon, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry by Sir Thomas Lawrence, Jenny Lind by Eduard Magnus, Julia Margaret by Cameron by George Frederic Watts, Thomas Hardy by William Strang, Charles Dickens by Daniel Maclise, Lady Colin Campbell by Giovanni Boldini, Winston Churchill by Sir William Orpen, Octavia Hill by John Singer Sargent, Virginia Woolf by Vanessa Bell, the double portrait of Prince Williams and Princess Kate, the portrait of King Charles III, A gem I managed to spot on minute 11:56 is one of my favourite portraits in the collection, a triple portrait of James Barry, Dominique Lefevre and James Paine the Younger by James Barry himself made c. 1767 which I find so modern !!! Thank you once more ! Best wishes from Argentina

[@LondonVisited]

Thank you so much for watching this video and also for your comments. The paintings are fantastic and delighted you found loads you knew and loved. The reopened gallery is just amazing and I have already lost count of the number of times I've just popped in there and drawn to the Tudor section and that of Oliver Cromwell and Charles II. I feel so lucky to be able to do this. Also with some of the masterpieces of the National Gallery around the corner, we are so lucky. Thank you 👍😀

[@MiaFeigelsonGallery]

@@LondonVisited It's me who's immensely grateful to you, your wonderful Video brought back wonderful memories which even moved me deeply, I felt as if I were there. The whole Gallery looks brighter, shinier, what a change ! Nevertheless I didn't dislike what it looked like in the least. I live far away from the UK and for health reasons, unfortunately I'll never be able to travel back to London. Nevertheless, I cannot complain. I've been there 4 times and I'll never ... never forget my time in one of the most exciting, highly cultured cities in the world: her people, museums, architecture.... what else could I add? I love London beyond words. As for the National Gallery, I visited it every day so much so that when in London, the National Gallery was my 'second home' 😀 Best wishes !!!

[@lesleysmith51]

I didn't realize that it had been closed and for how long. Loved the people dressed 👗up at the beginning of the post. I would love to see 👀 the Tudor section. I love the way they did some of their artwork. The Queen 👸 Elizabeth pictures were so regal. I would have enjoyed 😉☺🙂😊 the other floors too. I did recognize some of the music stars 🌟. I always find it amazing how 🎨 in those days could produce those huge paintings 🖼 so well. The amount of work that went into them is just incredible. What else did they have for the modern art ? The cafe looked yummy. I would love to see this in real life but that isn't going to happen 😕😐 unfortunately. Just beautiful 😍 post.

[@LondonVisited]

Thanks Lesley, yes the Tudor section and paintings are just incredible. It's hard to to at an Elizabeth I paintings and not be wowed by it. Thanks as always 👍😀

[@karenstanislaw8912]

Wonderful place to contemplate humanity. I was an idiot, never took myself in when I lived there. Other museums, galleries - yes - but not this one. Quiet and relevant and powerful . Thanks, Steve.

[@LondonVisited]

Karen, there's no way you can do all of them 👍😀

[@graphiquejack]

The first time you reference a painting as Catherine Parr, it's really the 'Lady Mary' or the future Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. This is made clear on the plaque beside the painting as well as the wording on the painting itself.

[@eddie_d1233]

I went there in October, 2018. If my memory serves me well the first portrait I saw was of Richard III. It was so recognizable to me and I realized that's the likeness of him that I've seen many times in various media. And that was the first of the hundreds of portraits.. I spent a lot of time there. Fascinating place to visit.

[@LondonVisited]

So easy to spend so much time here and just keep going back, an incredible place. Thanks for watching 👍😄

[@arriesone1]

It’s very difficult to say a favourite, they are all so absolutely stunning. This is true artistic genius, forget the Tracey Emins and Damien Hirsts of this world, utter garbage. The capturing of the silks, satins, furs… you almost feel you can reach out and touch them. The stunning painting of William and Kate is gorgeous!

[@LondonVisited]

It's really funny you should say that as when i first saw the William and Kate painting I had to double take it wasn't a photo - amazing :)

[@arriesone1]

@@LondonVisited Ha ha, I also had to google it before putting my comment to make sure it wasn’t a photo! What skill!

[@LondonVisited]

@@arriesone1 I know incredible

[@janeknight3597]

Admission is free but you should book in advance because it is very popular.

[@mariacuthbert9884]

I noticed James Joyce there, and I found Virginia Woolf's portrait done by her sister very moving. I loved all the older paintings, and I found the recommendations useful. I wonder if there are any portraits in graphite. I thought I saw some of those in the old Tate gallery many years ago. I hope to see the gallery in the future. Thank you!

[@LondonVisited]

Thanks so much for watching and I love the place and keep going back! :)

[@jameshaddan8538]

Great video, thanks! Loved that you showed Reynold’s ‘Portrait of Mai’ - though surprised you didn’t mention it by name…especially considering it was the major purchase of the Gallery to mark the reopening - well joint purchase, since at £50M the Gallery had to jointly purchase it with the Getty in Los Angeles.

[@LondonVisited]

Thanks so much for watching and commenting, yes I did film it on purpose as certainly a major piece, although didn't realise at the cost of £50m - wow! :)

[@janicestewart8291]

I love the Tudor room. Thank you for showing it. I have copies of 3 of those paintings of Queen Elizabeth the 1st in my bedroom. She was an amazing lady. Was a painting of Winston Churchill there?

[@LondonVisited]

Those Elizabeth I paintings are incredible. Yes a younger version of him. It is in the video I think about 30 secs or so before Beatrix Potter 👍😀

[@cwspurgeon]

What a joy! The NPG has long been my favourite gallery, and now I can enjoy it here in Huntington Beach, California. Thanks! I hope to return to London next year, and the NPG will be my 2nd stop; the first is always Westminster Abbey's St Faith's Chapel for morning prayers and eucharist. Dr Charles W Spurgeon

[@LondonVisited]

Fantastic, the gallery has been so well renovated and it is another of those places where whatever time you have, it just doesn't feel sufficient. Thanks so much for watching.

[@johnnzboy]

Really interesting, thank you for this tour.

[@LondonVisited]

Thanks so much for watching 👍😀

[@Jpkjr52]

Thanks again John in Chicago

[@vasileioskavros3798]

❤🎉

[@elizabethkoltun7354]

Love to see these. Maybe learn a little more how to focus properly on on the paintings. Spend a little more time on each one .

[@paulajarman9314]

Where was Queen Elizabeth II?

[@LondonVisited]

Brilliant shout Paula. Yes did see one painting of her but forgot to film it as too many people around it when I came across it :)

[@terrymccann3607]

We was in London (St james's) last week, and was hoping to vsit NPG. When we checked with their website, it said you had to book tickets in advance , by registering your details. What's going with everything? Why can't we just walk in and enjoy anymore? Who keeps coming up with these silly ideas? Ever so disappointed, will more than likely never get the chance to visit again.

[@LondonVisited]

Shame as I was told you could probably just get a walk in spot

[@susprime7018]

Well, where's her lamp? Is the bare breasted one Nell Gwynn or one of the other cast of thousands of Charles II? Thank you, enjoyed it. Diana is my favorite. 😊

[@LondonVisited]

Must have left it at home that day and yes it is Nell Gwyn from 1670. Thanks so much for watching and that Diana painting is lovely 😄👍

[@cdean2789]

Tracey Emin is not my cup of tea.

[@LondonVisited]

Definitely an acquired taste :)

[@janedoe5229]

The paintings are lovely, but the drawings on the front doors are hideous. I don't care how "famous" she is.