Guildhall Art Gallery facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Guildhall Art Gallery

Established	1885 (original), 1999 (current)
Location	Moorgate area, City of London, England
Type	Art museum
Collection size	About 4,000 items
Architect	Richard Gilbert Scott (current building)

The Guildhall Art Gallery is a fantastic art museum located in the City of London, England. It holds a large collection of beautiful artworks owned by the City of London. You can find this museum in the Moorgate area. The building is made of stone and has a classic, old-fashioned look. It was designed to fit in with the historic Guildhall building right next to it.

History of the Guildhall Art Gallery

The City of London Corporation, which is the local government for the City of London, began collecting art a long time ago. They started gathering portraits in 1670. These paintings were first hung in the Guildhall itself. Over the years, especially in the 1800s and 1900s, the art collection grew much larger. Many artworks were given as gifts or left to the Corporation in wills.

Building the First Art Gallery

The first building made just for displaying this art collection was finished in 1885. Sadly, this original gallery was destroyed during The Blitz in 1941. The Blitz was a time during World War II when London was heavily bombed. Because of this, 164 paintings, drawings, and sculptures were lost.

A New Home for the Art

It took many years for the City of London Corporation to decide to build a new gallery. In 1985, they finally made the decision to create a new home for their art. The new building was designed by a British architect named Richard Gilbert Scott. It has a modern style. This new gallery was completed in 1999. It was built to hold about 4,000 different art pieces.

Famous Paintings at the Gallery

One of the most important artworks in the collection is a huge painting by John Singleton Copley. It shows The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar. This impressive painting is placed in a very important spot in the gallery's entrance hall.

Roman Amphitheatre Below the Gallery

The Roman amphitheatre below the Guildhall Art Gallery

The Guildhall Art Gallery and the buildings around it were built on top of an ancient site. This site was once London's Roman amphitheatre. An amphitheatre was a large, open-air stadium used for public events in Roman times. You can actually see some of the original remains of this Roman amphitheatre. They are displayed in a special room in the basement of the art gallery. It's like stepping back in time!

Art Gallery Collection

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  Winter Landscape with a Frozen River and Figures by Hendrick Avercamp, c.1620

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  Boy with a Glass and a Lute by Frans Hals, 1626

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  Cityscape with a Church and a Square by Jan van der Heyden, c.1669

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  Panoramic View of Haarlem by Jacob van Ruisdael, 1670

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  Blackfriars Bridge and St Paul's Cathedral by William Marlow, c.1762

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  Portrait of Thomas Tomkins by Joshua Reynolds, 1789

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  The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, September 1782 by John Singleton Copley, 1791

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  John Philip Kemble as Coriolanus by Thomas Lawrence, 1798

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  Barmouth Sands by William Collins, 1835

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  Queen Victoria Enthroned in the House of Lords by George Hayter, 1838

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  Keats Listening to a Nightingale on Hampstead Heath by Joseph Severn, 1845

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  In the Gulf of Venice by Clarkson Stanfield, 1848

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  On the Road from Waterloo to Paris by Marcus Stone, 1863

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  My First Sermon by John Everett Millais, 1863

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  Sanctuary by Richard Burchett, 1867

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  The Last Evening by James Tissot, 1873

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  Too Early by James Tissot, 1873

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  La Ghirlandata by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1873

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  Margaret of Anjou Being Taken Prisoner After the Battle of Tewkesbury by John Gilbert, 1875

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  The Music Lesson by Frederic Leighton, 1877

• Collier-Clytemnestra after the murder.jpg

  Clytemnestra by John Collier, 1882

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  The Violinist by George Adolphus Storey, 1886

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  The Ninth of November, 1888 by William Logsdail, 1890

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  The Betrothed by John William Godward, 1892

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  On a Fine Day by Elizabeth Forbes, 1903