The Queen's Gallery is the main public
art gallery of
Buckingham Palace, home of the
British monarch, in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. It exhibits works of art from the
Royal Collection (the bulk of which works have since its opening been regularly displayed, so held in trust for the nation, rather than kept privately) on a rotating basis. It has its own access façade and typically displays about 450 works, always including mainly paintings and drawings.
Building history
The gallery forms the most protruding south wing of the Palace. Its entrance/exit is on the site of a chapel bombed during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. The gallery opened in 1962; in the next 37 years the gallery received 5 million visitors, until its closure in 1999 (1999 to 2002) for expansion. The expansion, was commissioned from architect
John Simpson. On 21 May 2002, the gallery was reopened by
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
to coincide with her
Golden Jubilee. The expansion made the
Doric entrance
portico, new rooms, and more than tripling in size. It is open to the public during the day for most of the year.
Exhibitions
*From May to October 2019, the Queen's Gallery housed an exhibition of 200 of Leonardo da Vinci's drawings from the
Royal Collection
See also
*
List of museums in London
file:A flow chart of London museums by Matt Brown.jpg, A flow chart of London's museums
This is a list of museums in London, the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. It also includes university and non-profit art galleries. As of 201 ...
*
Royal Collection
References
*Fisher, Mark (2004). Britain's Best Museums and Galleries. London: Penguin.
External links
The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace on Royal Collection site
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Royal buildings in London
Art museums and galleries in London
1962 establishments in England
Museums in the City of Westminster
Buckingham Palace
Art museums established in 1962
Elizabeth II