Gallery National Portrait Gallery to Close for Three Years for Revamp
- 2019-11-06
- The Guardian
The National Portrait Gallery is to close for nearly three years when building work begins on a top-to-bottom £35.5m redevelopment of its 123-year-old London home.
The surprise announcement was made on Tuesday, with the gallery pledging to lend 300 portraits a year to regional galleries and organisations across the UK during the closure.
A spokesperson said on Tuesday that after all the options had been considered, a decision had been taken that the most efficient way to complete the project and safeguard visitors, staff and the collection was to close completely from 29 June 2020 until spring 2023.
London’s loss will be the the rest of the UK’s gain with exhibitions and projects planned with York Art Gallery, the Holburne Museum in Bath, the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle, National Museums Liverpool and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.