Editing National Gallery (section)

==Architecture==
===William Wilkins's building===
{{Infobox historic site
| name = 
| image = William Wilkins's building.JPG
| image_size = 250px
| caption = The Wilkins Building, with the church of [[St&nbsp;Martin-in-the-Fields]] to the right
| built = 1832–1838
| architect = William Wilkins
| architecture = [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]]
| designation1 = Grade I
| designation1_offname = National Gallery
| designation1_date = 5 February 1970
| designation1_number = 1066236<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1066236|desc=National Gallery|access-date= 11 November 2013}}</ref>
}}

The first suggestion for a National Gallery on Trafalgar Square came from [[John Nash (architect)|John Nash]], who envisaged it on the site of the [[Royal Mews#At Charing Cross|King's Mews]], while a [[Parthenon]]-like building for the [[Royal Academy]] would occupy the centre of the square.{{sfn|Liscombe|1980|pp=180–182}} Economic recession prevented this scheme from being built, but a competition for the Mews site was eventually held in 1831, for which Nash submitted a design with [[Charles Robert Cockerell]] as his co-architect. Nash's popularity was waning by this time, however, and the commission was awarded to [[William Wilkins (architect)|William Wilkins]], who was involved in the selection of the site and submitted some drawings at the last moment.{{sfn|Summerson|1962|pp=208–209}} Wilkins had hoped to build a "Temple of the Arts, nurturing contemporary art through historical example",<ref>''Grove Dictionary of Art'', Vol. 33, p. 192.</ref> but the commission was blighted by parsimony and compromise, and the resulting building, which opened to the public on 9 April 1838,{{sfn|Smith|2009|p=49}} was deemed a failure on almost all counts.

The site only allowed for the building to be one room deep, as a workhouse and a barracks lay immediately behind.{{NoteTag|St Martin's Workhouse (to the east) was cleared for the construction of E. M. Barry's extension, whereas [[St George's Barracks, London|St George's Barracks]] stayed until 1911, supposedly because of the need for troops to be at hand to quell disturbances in Trafalgar Square. ({{Harvnb|Conlin|2006|p=401}}) Wilkins had hoped for more land to the south, but was denied it as building there would have obscured the view of [[St Martin-in-the-Fields]].}} To exacerbate matters, there was a public right of way through the site to these buildings, which accounts for the access porticoes on the eastern and western sides of the façade. These had to incorporate columns from the demolished [[Carlton House, London|Carlton House]], and their relative shortness resulted in an elevation that was deemed excessively low, thus failing to provide Trafalgar Square with its desired commanding focal point to the north. Also recycled are the sculptures on the façade, originally intended for Nash's [[Marble Arch]] but abandoned due to his financial problems.{{NoteTag|They are as follows: above the main entrance, a blank roundel (originally to feature the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]]'s face) flanked by two female figures (personifications of Europe and Asia/India, sites of his campaigns) and high up on the eastern façade, [[Minerva]] by [[John Flaxman]], originally [[Britannia]].}} The eastern half of the building housed the Royal Academy until 1868, which further diminished the space afforded to the National Gallery.

The building was the object of public ridicule before it had even been completed, as a version of the design had been leaked to ''[[The Literary Gazette]]'' in 1833.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=60}} Two years before completion, its infamous "pepperpot" elevation appeared on the frontispiece of ''Contrasts'' (1836), an influential tract by the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothicist]] [[Augustus Pugin]], as an example of the degeneracy of the classical style.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=367}} Even [[William IV]] (in his last recorded utterance) thought the building a "nasty little pokey hole",{{sfn|Smith|2009|p=50}} while [[William Makepeace Thackeray]] called it "a little gin shop of a building".{{sfn|Smith|2009|p=50}} The twentieth-century architectural historian Sir [[John Summerson]] echoed these early criticisms when he compared the arrangement of a [[dome]] and two diminutive [[Turret (architecture)|turret]]s on the roofline to "the clock and vases on a mantelpiece, only less useful".{{sfn|Summerson|1962|pp=208–209}}{{NoteTag|Summerson's "mantelpiece" comparison inspired the title of Conlin's 2006 history of the National Gallery, ''The Nation's Mantelpiece'' (op. cit.).}} Sir [[Charles Barry]]'s landscaping of Trafalgar Square, from 1840, included a north terrace so that the building would appear to be raised, thus addressing one of the points of complaint.<ref name="Survey" /> Opinion on the building had mellowed considerably by 1984, when [[Charles III|Prince Charles]] called the Wilkins façade a "much-loved and elegant friend", in contrast to a proposed extension. (''[[#Sainsbury Wing and later additions|See below]]'')

<gallery mode="packed" heights="175">
National Gallery London 2013 March.jpg|The elevation onto Trafalgar Square in 2013
National Gallery1836.jpg|The ''[[piano nobile]]'' and ground floor of Wilkins's building, before expansion. Note the passageways behind the east and west porticoes. Areas shaded in pink were used by the Royal Academy until 1868.
National Gallery 1st floor plan.svg|Plan of the first floor of the National Gallery in 2013
</gallery>

===Alteration and expansion (Pennethorne, Barry and Taylor)===
The first significant alteration made to the building was the single, long gallery added by Sir [[James Pennethorne]] in 1860–1861. Ornately decorated in comparison with the rooms by Wilkins, it nonetheless worsened the cramped conditions inside the building as it was built over the original entrance hall.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|pp=384–385}} Unsurprisingly, several attempts were made either to completely remodel the National Gallery (as suggested by Sir Charles Barry in 1853), or to move it to more capacious premises in [[Kensington]], where the air was also cleaner. In 1867 Barry's son [[Edward Middleton Barry]] proposed to replace the Wilkins building with a massive classical building with four domes. The scheme was a failure and contemporary critics denounced the exterior as "a strong plagiarism upon St Paul's Cathedral".{{sfn|Barker|Hyde|1982|pp=116–117}}

With the demolition of the workhouse, however, Barry was able to build the gallery's first sequence of grand architectural spaces, from 1872 to 1876. Built to a polychrome [[Neo-Renaissance]] design, the Barry Rooms were arranged on a [[Greek cross]] plan around a huge central octagon. Though it compensated for the underwhelming architecture of the Wilkins building, Barry's new wing was disliked by Gallery staff, who considered its monumental aspect to be in conflict with its function as exhibition space. Also, the decorative programme of the rooms did not take their intended contents into account; the ceiling of the 15th- and 16th-century Italian gallery, for instance, was inscribed with the names of British artists of the 19th century.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=396}} However, despite these failures, the Barry Rooms provided the gallery with a strong axial groundplan; this was to be followed by all subsequent additions to the gallery for a century, resulting in a building of clear symmetry.

Pennethorne's gallery was demolished for the next phase of building, a scheme by Sir [[John Taylor (architect)|John Taylor]] extending northwards of the main entrance. Its glass-domed entrance vestibule had painted ceiling decorations by the [[John Dibblee Crace|Crace]] family firm, who had also worked on the Barry Rooms. A fresco intended for the south wall was never realised.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=399}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="175">
Galería Nacional, Londres, Inglaterra, 2014-08-11, DD 178.JPG|The Barry Rooms (1872–1876), designed by E.&nbsp;M.&nbsp;Barry
Bóveda de la sala 36, Galería Nacional, Londres, Inglaterra, 2014-08-11, DD 165-167 HDR.JPG|The dome of Room 34, the central octagon of the Barry Rooms
Staircase hall of the National Gallery, London.jpg|The Staircase Hall (1884–1887), designed by Sir John Taylor, in a photograph of 2007. To the left is ''[[Cimabue's Celebrated Madonna]]'' by [[Frederic, Lord Leighton]] (a loan from the [[Royal Collection]] since the 1990s).{{sfn|Conlin|2006|p=399}}
Central Hall, National Gallery.jpg|The Central Hall, part of Sir John Taylor's additions
</gallery>

===20th century: modernisation versus restoration===
[[File:Boris Anrep mosaic, The National Gallery - The Awakening of the Muses.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[Boris Anrep#National Gallery mosaics (1928–1952)|The Awakening of the Muses]]'' (1933), a mosaic by Boris Anrep]]

Later additions to the west came more steadily but maintained the coherence of the building by mirroring Barry's cross-axis plan to the east. The use of dark marble for doorcases was also continued, giving the extensions a degree of internal consistency with the older rooms. The classical style was still in use at the National Gallery in 1929, when a [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]]–style gallery was built, funded by the art dealer and trustee [[Joseph Duveen, 1st Baron Duveen of Millbank|Lord Duveen]]. However, it was not long before the 20th-century reaction against Victorian attitudes became manifest at the gallery. From 1928 to 1952, the landing floors of Taylor's entrance hall were relaid with a new series of [[mosaic]]s by [[Boris Anrep]], who was friendly with the [[Bloomsbury Group]]. These mosaics can be read as a satire on 19th-century conventions for the decoration of public buildings, as typified by the [[Albert Memorial]]'s ''[[Frieze of Parnassus]]''.{{sfn|Conlin|2006|pp=404–405}} The central mosaic depicting ''The Awakening of the Muses'' includes portraits of [[Virginia Woolf]] and [[Greta Garbo]], subverting the high moral tone of its Victorian forebears. In place of Christianity's [[seven virtues]], Anrep offered his own set of ''Modern Virtues'', including "Humour" and "Open Mind"; the allegorical figures are again portraits of his contemporaries, including Winston Churchill, [[Bertrand Russell]] and [[T. S. Eliot]].{{sfn|Oliver|2004|p=54}}

In the 20th century, the gallery's late Victorian interiors fell out of fashion.<ref>See for example National Gallery (corporate author) (1974). ''The Working of the National Gallery''. London: National Gallery Publishing, p. 8: "the National Gallery has suffered from the visual pretentiousness of its 19th century buildings". The modernist North Galleries opened the following year.</ref> The Crace ceiling decorations in the entrance hall were not to the taste of the director [[Charles Holmes]], and were obliterated by white paint.<ref name=Jury2007>They were restored only in 2005. {{cite news |first=Louise |last=Jury |title=A Victorian masterpiece emerges from beneath the whitewash |work=The Independent |date=14 June 2004 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20040614/ai_n12791111 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016152941/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20040614/ai_n12791111 |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=14 October 2007}}</ref>
The North Galleries, which opened to the public in 1975, marked the arrival of [[modern architecture|modernist architecture]] at the National Gallery. In the older rooms, the original classical details were effaced by partitions, daises and suspended ceilings, the aim being to create neutral settings which did not distract from contemplation of the paintings. But the gallery's commitment to modernism was short-lived: by the 1980s Victorian style was no longer considered anathema, and a restoration programme began to restore the 19th- and early 20th-century interiors to their purported original appearance. This began with the refurbishment of the Barry Rooms in 1985–1986. From 1996 to 1999 even the North Galleries, by then considered to "lack a positive architectural character", were remodelled in a classical style, albeit a simplified one.{{sfn|Gaskell|2000|pp=179–182}}

===Sainsbury Wing and later additions===
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Sainsbury Wing
| image = National Gallery London Sainsbury Wing 2006-04-17.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = The Sainsbury Wing, as built, seen from Trafalgar Square
| built = 1988–1991
| architect = Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Associates
| architecture = [[Postmodern architecture|Postmodernist]]
| designation1 = Grade I
| designation1_offname = Sainsbury Wing at the National&nbsp;Gallery
| designation1_date = 9 May 2018
| designation1_number = 1451082<ref name="NHLE Sainsbury Wing">{{National Heritage List for England |num=1451082|desc=Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery |access-date=11 May 2018 |fewer-links=x}}</ref>
}}

The most important addition to the building in the late 20th century was the Sainsbury Wing, designed by the postmodernist architects [[Robert Venturi]] and [[Denise Scott Brown]] to house the collection of Renaissance paintings and built in 1991. The building occupies the "Hampton's site" to the west of the main building, where a department store of the same name had stood until its destruction in [[the Blitz]]. The gallery had long sought expansion into this space{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} and in 1982 a competition was held to find a suitable architect; the shortlist included a radical [[High-tech architecture|high-tech]] proposal by [[Richard Rogers]], among others. The design that won the most votes was by the firm [[Ahrends, Burton and Koralek]], who then modified their proposal to include a tower, similar to that of the Rogers scheme. The proposal was dropped after the [[Charles III|Prince of Wales]] compared the design to a "monstrous [[carbuncle]] on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speechesandarticles/a_speech_by_hrh_the_prince_of_wales_at_the_150th_anniversary_1876801621.html |title=A speech by HRH The Prince of Wales at the 150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Royal Gala Evening at Hampton Court Palace |access-date=16 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213205/http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speechesandarticles/a_speech_by_hrh_the_prince_of_wales_at_the_150th_anniversary_1876801621.html |archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref> The term "monstrous carbuncle", for a modern building that clashes with its surroundings, has since become commonplace.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4285069.stm |title=Prince's new architecture blast |access-date=16 June 2007 |date=21 February 2005 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1162818.stm |title=No cash for 'highest slum' |access-date=16 June 2007 |date=9 February 2001 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

One of the conditions of the 1982 competition was that the new wing had to include commercial offices as well as public gallery space. However, in 1985 it became possible to devote the extension entirely to the gallery's uses, due to a donation of almost £50&nbsp;million from [[John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover|Lord Sainsbury]] and his brothers [[Simon Sainsbury|Simon]] and Sir [[Tim Sainsbury]]. A closed competition was held, and the schemes produced were noticeably more restrained than in the earlier competition.

[[File:Galería Nacional, Londres, Inglaterra, 2014-08-11, DD 173.JPG|thumb|left|The main [[enfilade (architecture)|enfilade]] of the Sainsbury Wing]]

In contrast with the rich ornamentation of the main building, the galleries in the Sainsbury Wing are pared down and intimate, to suit the smaller scale of many of the paintings.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} The main inspirations for these rooms are Sir [[John Soane]]'s toplit galleries for the [[Dulwich Picture Gallery]] and the church interiors of [[Filippo Brunelleschi]]. (The stone dressing is in [[pietra serena]], the grey stone local to Florence.)<ref>{{Cite web|date=3 October 2018|title=AD Classics: Sainsbury Wing, National Gallery London / Venturi Scott Brown|url=https://www.archdaily.com/781839/ad-classics-sainsbury-wing-national-gallery-london-venturi-scott-brown|access-date=26 January 2021|website=ArchDaily|language=en-US}}</ref> The northernmost galleries align with Barry's central axis, so that there is a single vista down the whole length of the gallery. This axis is exaggerated by the use of [[false perspective]], as the columns flanking each opening gradually diminish in size until the visitor reaches the focal point (as of 2009), an altarpiece by [[Cima da Conegliano|Cima]] of ''The Incredulity of Saint Thomas''.{{needs update|date=March 2024}} Venturi's postmodernist approach to architecture is in full evidence at the Sainsbury Wing, with its stylistic quotations from buildings as disparate as the clubhouses on Pall Mall, the [[Scala Regia (Vatican)|Scala Regia]] in the Vatican, Victorian warehouses and Ancient Egyptian temples.

Following the pedestrianisation of Trafalgar Square, the gallery is currently{{when|date=April 2024}} engaged in a masterplan to convert the vacated office space on the ground floor into public space. The plan will also fill in disused courtyards and make use of land acquired from the adjoining [[National Portrait Gallery (London)|National Portrait Gallery]] in St Martin's Place, which it gave to the National Gallery in exchange for land for its 2000 extension. The first phase, the East Wing Project designed by Jeremy Dixon and [[Edward Jones (English architect)|Edward Jones]], opened to the public in 2004. This provided a new ground level entrance from Trafalgar Square, named in honour of Sir [[Paul Getty]]. The main entrance was also refurbished, and reopened in September 2005. Possible future projects include a "West Wing Project" roughly symmetrical with the East Wing Project, which would provide a future ground level entrance, and the public opening of some small rooms at the far eastern end of the building acquired as part of the swap with the National Portrait Gallery. This might include a new public staircase in the bow on the eastern façade. No timetable has been announced for these additional projects.{{needs update|date=March 2024}}

====Renovation of the Sainsbury Wing====
In April 2021, a jury short-listed six firms of architects – [[Caruso St John]], [[David Chipperfield|David Chipperfield Architects]], Asif Kahn, [[David Kohn (architect)|David Kohn Architects]], [[Annabelle Selldorf|Selldorf Architects]], and Witherford Watson Mann Architects – in a competition for design proposals to upgrade the Sainsbury Wing.<ref>Matt Hickman (8 April 2021), [https://www.archpaper.com/2021/04/selldorf-architects-among-six-shortlisted-firms-for-national-gallery-revamp-in-london/ Selldorf Architects among six shortlisted firms for National Gallery revamp in London] ''[[The Architect's Newspaper]]''.</ref>

A letter written in 1990 by one of the donors, [[John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover|John Sainsbury]], was discovered in 2023 during the demolition of two false columns in which he argued that "the false columns are a mistake of the architect and that we would live to regret our accepting this detail of his design."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harold |first=Pia |date=28 August 2024 |title=National Gallery column-hating letter by donor 'a compromise' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4ye33e9vpo |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-27 |title=Sainsbury Wing contractors find 1990 letter from donor anticipating their demolition of false columns |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/08/27/sainsbury-wing-contractors-find-1990-letter-from-donor-anticipating-their-demolition-of-false-columns |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=The Art Newspaper - International art news and events}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=John Sainsbury, a donor to the National Gallery, had the last laugh |url=https://www.economist.com/culture/2024/08/28/john-sainsbury-a-donor-to-the-national-gallery-had-the-last-laugh |access-date=2024-09-08 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>

In 2024, excavations for the Sainsbury Wing extension at Jubilee Walk uncovered evidence that the Anglo-Saxon settlement of [[Lundenwic]] extended further to the west than had previously been supposed.<ref>{{citation|mode=cs1|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/excavation-reveals-ancient-town-beneath-londons-national-gallery-2434742|title=Excavation Reveals Ancient Town Beneath London's National Gallery|date=18 February 2024|website=Artnet|access-date=11 March 2024}}</ref>