Art for the People
Jonathan Conlin asks what the National Gallery has meant to the cultural and civic life of Britain since its foundation in 1824.
In 1824 the House of Commons voted £54,000 for the establishment of a National Gallery. The art collection of thirty-eight works (containing such classics as Claude’s ‘Seaport’, Titian’s ‘Venus and Adonis’ and Hogarth’s ‘Marriage à la Mode’) formed by the merchant and insurance broker J.J. Angerstein (1732-1823) was purchased from his heirs, along with the lease of his former house at 100 Pall Mall. The National Gallery opened to the public on April 28th, 1824. The Whig MP George Agar Ellis (1797-1833), one of the most active in negotiating the Angerstein purchase, insisted in the Quarterly Review that the new institution should be truly popular, unike other, privately owned, London museums and galleries; although these might have been officially free to all comers, in practice access was difficult for all but the elite. Only those with the right connections were welcome at Cleveland Row, Hill Street and the other, fashionable streets in which the titled displayed their family collections.
To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.
Start my trial subscription now
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
