Enfilade

The London Guildhall, photo from Wikimedia Commons, 2014.

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From Chloé Nelkin Consulting:

Guildhall Art Gallery has undergone a transformational rehang for the first time in 15 years [opening Friday, 16 January 2015]. Many of the works have never been on show before. In the Victorian display alone, 70% of works represent a completely new curatorial selection; through imaginative use of space, the overall number of paintings on show has been doubled.

This £600,000 renovation project will improve visitor experience with a new state-of-the-art lighting system and more flexible exhibition spaces. As well as more paintings and new lighting, the choice of Aesthetic Movement green as the new wall colour enhances the period feel of the space and the impact of the individual artworks.

The new thematic rehang comprises a radical redisplay of the Victorian Gallery as well as sections on ‘City of London: Plenty and Progress’, ‘Picturing London: 400 Years’, and ‘Landscapes of Sir Matthew Smith’.

By introducing focused thematic displays on everyday subjects such as the home, work and leisure the rehang challenges preconceptions about Victorian art being ‘dated’ and actively seeks to engage modern viewers. The paintings highlight how many aspects of our lives today originate in the Victorian times, for example outdoor recreation such as sports and public parks, affordable home decoration, or office work. The rehang of the Victorian works also demonstrates how the approach to fine art fundamentally changed in the 19th century, with artists turning to the depiction of contemporary life as their main inspiration.

Julia Dudkiewicz, Principal Curator of Guildhall Art Gallery, says “The rehang has been a labour of love and it has been a great privilege to work with such outstanding and internationally significant collections. The Guildhall Art Gallery is a real hidden gem in the heart of the City. It was one of the first public galleries in London, predating Tate Britain by 15 years, and today houses one of the largest and best collections of Victorian art in the world.”

Guildhall Art Gallery, housed in a purpose-built space designed by Richard Gilbert Scott, showcases the extensive art treasures of the City of London Corporation, spanning 400 years of collecting and numbering some 4,500 works. The new ‘City of London: Plenty and Progress’ display will offer an introduction to the City of London Corporation, exploring the often controversial themes of money, commerce and capitalism, with a combination of contemporary and historic works by artists as diverse as William Hogarth, William Logsdail, Ken Howard, and Mark Titchner.

David Pearson, the City of London’s Director of Culture, Heritage and Libraries, said: “As the relaunch is progressing, everyone in the City of London Corporation has been amazed and delighted with the ongoing results. The new colour scheme, and the paintings being seen for the first time in many years, will really transform the display of a collection which is a key part of City heritage. Whether you are an old friend of the Gallery, or have not been before, make sure you come to see it!”

The rehang has been conceived and developed by Julia Dudkiewicz, working with Exhibitions Curator Katty Pearce. The new interpretation and branding has been developed in close collaboration with Crescent Lodge Design, and aims to enhance creative learning opportunities at the Gallery, by introducing original ‘icon’ designs, text panels and new captions.

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Guildhall Art Gallery, relaunch, 2014. ©Sam Roberts for the Guildhall Art Gallery. Pictured is John Singleton Copley’s Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, with General Sir George Eliott on horseback pointing to the battle between the British and the Spanish land and sea forces, 1783–1791.

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From the Guildhall Art Gallery:

In 1670, the Court of Aldermen commissioned twenty-two paintings to hang in their newly restored Guildhall. These were portraits of the Fire Judges; men who had been appointed to assess compensation claims after the Great Fire of London in 1666. The Corporation of London’s art collection grew from this initial commission and now numbers approximately 4,500 works of art. Twenty of the Fire Judges’ portraits were damaged in December 1940 when the gallery was bombed during a World War II air raid. Two survived, and you can see the portrait of Sir Hugh Wyndham on display in the galleries today.

The Corporation continued to commission and purchase early portraits of royalty and individual benefactors of the City of London. Surviving works include portraits of William III and Queen Mary (1690) by the Dutch painter Jan van der Vaardt and portraits of George II and Queen Caroline (1727) by Jervas. The collections have since been shaped by bequests from individuals, as described below, as well as acquisitions of new material. The Gallery’s first Director, the dynamic Sir Alfred Temple, developed its popular collection of Victorian paintings. Crowds gathered to see Temple’s groundbreaking loan exhibitions, filling Guildhall Yard and forming a queue “reaching… almost to the Bank of England.” Since the Second World War, the Gallery has concentrated on expanding its unique collection of London pictures. . .

Search the collection here»