Art Exhibitions in London
London showcases some of the best and most varied art exhibitions in the world.
The British Museum
Considered the best museum in the world, it currently hosts the unique exhibition, Medals of Dishonour, featuring medals that condemn instead of praise. This includes medals from the 16th to 20th Centuries, as well as modern ones, covering a wide variety of subjects. While at the museum, stop in to see the collection’s most controversial artifacts, the Elgin Marbles, the Greek sculptures that adorned the Parthenon and Acropolis, taken to England in the early 1800s. The world’s largest collection of African artifacts is also worth a look, as is the Rosetta Stone and stunning Egyptian mummies.
Tate Modern
The world’s largest collection of modern art offers enthusiasts two free floors, with a paid exhibition space in between them. Current exhibitions include Futurism, featuring pieces by Picasso, Boccioni, and Severini along with movements in reaction to Futurism.
Tate Britain
Currently, it features Colour and Line: Turner’s Experiments, a display on JMW Turner’s revolutionary image-making, both in watercolor and print. This includes interactive displays, illuminating Turner’s techniques and methodology. While there check out the collection’s sublime display of Tudor and Stuart portraiture.
National Gallery
For the first time in 50 years, the National Gallery has put Titian’s ‘Triumph of Love’ on display in an exhibition that focuses on Italian Renaissance portraits and their relationships to their reverses and covers. While there check out the excellent collection of 17th Century Spanish painting, featuring El Greco and Velazquez.
Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy presents a retrospective, JW Waterhouse: The Modern Pre-Raphaelite. It features more than 40 paintings, including The Lady of Shalott, in the first major show of Waterhouse works in 40 years.
Buckingham Palace
In honor of the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth, Buckingham Palace exhibits Queen & Commonwealth: The Royal Tour. This showcases a collection of dresses and gifts from The Queen’s Commonwealth tours. The Queen’s Gallery currently features French Porcelain for English Palaces, an exhibition of 300 pieces of the Royal Collection’s fabulous Sèvres porcelain, the preeminent porcelain producer of the 18th Century. One of the highlights is the set of vases once owned by Marie Antoinette, finally reunited.
The Tower of London
In honor of the 500th anniversary of his coronation, the Tower of London hosts the exhibit, Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill, displaying artifacts and objects owned by the famed King.
This is but a small sampling of the myriad exhibits on display. No matter one’s taste, there’s a London exhibit sure to satisfy.
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