After three years of work, the famous National Portrait Gallery in London reopens its doors to the public this Thursday, June 22 and wants to be more “representative of today’s United Kingdom”. The Princess of Wales Kate Middleton and Sir Paul Mc Cartney were present at the official inauguration.
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New places for the public, a new entrance and a learning center, these are the big changes made after work valued at 41.3 million pounds (48 million euros). First highlight of this new version of the National Portrait Gallery, an exhibition of photos of the Beatles.
In addition, the museum wanted to carry out a “rebalancing in what we exhibit, so that it is more inclusive and representative of today’s UK”explained Alison Smith, chief curator at the National Portrait Gallery.
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More parity in the portraits exhibited
“Before the closing, there were more portraits of men than of women. We looked into the question and today 48% of the works on display are portraits of women. We have made the exhibition more representative of the UK in terms of ethnicity, social class, disability”says Alison Smith.
British artist Tracey Emin, for example, was commissioned to create an art installation in the gallery. His work, The Doorsdepicts 45 female faces, cast in bronze and placed on the doors of the National Portrait Gallery.
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Five self-portraits by female artists were also acquired to shed light on the often overlooked stories of women who helped shape British history, the museum said.
The main exhibition of the summer, however, will be devoted to the most famous of English groups, with more than 250 unpublished photos of the Beatles taken by singer Paul McCartney.