Private Walking Tour of the National Gallery of Art
Since the National Gallery of Art first opened in 1937 its collection tracing Western art from the Middle Ages to the present day has won great international acclaim. On your Private Tour of the National Gallery, you will:
- Enjoy an immersive art tour experience with an art historian that brings art to life
- Gain expert insight into the history and background the gallery’s artifacts and paintings
- Learn the context of the art and impact of the socio-political climate
- Full of fascinating narrative, this tour is engaging and intellectually stimulating
- Relish a collection of 4,000 paintings, 31,000 drawings and 3,000 sculptures
- Discover Andrew W Mellon’s legacy as a great philanthropist and a supporter of global arts
Composed of works by the greatest artists of all time, all the gallery’s artifacts have been gifted, many by American financier and former Ambassador to the UK, Andrew W Mellon. Today this glorious art trove is brimming with Raphael, Rubens, El Greco, Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol. Leonard da Vinci’s Gineevra de’ Benci - dubbed Washington’s “Mona Lisa” - is also notable as the only da Vinci in all the Americas on public display.
Your absorbing Private National Gallery of Art Tour is led by a respected historian to provide a rich and immersive 3 hour experience. As you move through the galleries, consider why certain styles proliferated at certain times and explore the impact of the socio-political climate on artistic expression. Discuss the stories that unfold on canvas as you delve into 4,000 European and American paintings, 31,000 drawings and 3,000 sculptures plus an expansive library of 70,000 prints, 12,000 photographs. In 2014, the final tranche of Paul W Mellon’s bequest - sixty-two glorious masterpieces by artists such as Prendergast, Magritte, Monet, Frémiet, Boudin and Forain was welcomed to the gallery, bringing his total donation to gallery of 1,168 works since 1964.
Please note: due to Covid restrictions, timed entrances to the National Gallery of Art are released every Monday at 10AM for the week. Therefore we encourage you to book in advance to guarantee an entrance ticket.