To celebrate its 200th anniversary, London’s National Gallery has recently revamped its Sainsbury Wing, a transformation that has taken three years and $113 million. It was an arduous process, and one that has not always received positive attention. But when I met Gabriele Finaldi, director of London’s National Gallery, on Wednesday morning in the wing’s massive, airy foyer, he seemed happy with the result. Finaldi described the renovated wing as being “more approachable for anyone who believes the National Gallery is not for them.”
More than 3 million people walked through the National Gallery’s doors last year, continuing its reputation as one of the most visited museums in the world. Now, with this revamp and the surrounding bicentenary celebrations, the museum wants to boost accessibility and engage a younger audience.
Finaldi, who was knighted this year, was waiting for me at the top of the grand staircase. A towering figure at 6 feet 4 inches, he looked very much the boss in a finely cut blue suit. I didn’t want to dwell on Annabelle Selldorf’s design for the new wing, which has faced criticism. Denise Scott Brown, who designed the original building with her husband Robert Venturi in 1991, infamously accused Selldorf of making it “look like a circus clown wearing a tutu” in a 2022 interview with the Guardian. (Brown and Venturi’s design was itself once flogged by traditionalists, but it appeared to grow on people as time wore on. In 2018, architectural historian Barnabas Calder said it was “in the top rank of postmodernist buildings internationally.”)
The refurbishment is a powerful counter to any criticism aimed at Selldorf’s vision. The ground floor of the wing is flooded with light—it feels fresh and uplifting, much like the rehang (titled “The Wonder of Art”) one floor up, which isn’t so much a total reimagining of the collection but more a poetic retelling of it. The sumptuous works, including masterpieces by Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, and Jan van Eyck, speak for themselves; the National Gallery has simply enhanced their quality by tweaking a few things. For example, Monet and Titian have been given their own rooms so you can bask in their genius, and theirs alone. The Sainsbury Wing has 17 galleries, and you are free to wander them any which way, as there is no suggested route.
Finaldi seemed relieved that construction was complete. He’s experienced in overseeing modernization projects. As head of the Madrid’s Prado Museum, he opened the institution’s extension in 2007, followed by a research center a year later.
“The Sainsbury Wing is approximately one-third of the museum, so to have it closed for three years was quite a sacrifice,” he told me. “It’s been an opportunity to think about how we want the collection to resonate with the public: How can we make the experience fresh and engaging for the visitor?”
One way to do that is by acquiring new art, adding to the wing’s already-extraordinary holdings Renaissance and Old Masters art. The National Gallery recently forked out $20 million for a mysterious painting by an unknown artist titled The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret and Two Angels (1500–10). Sotheby’s brokered the deal with a private collector. The composition is the first on show as you walk into the second-floor gallery. Finaldi called it “the most significant acquisition of the bicentenary year.”
“We’re thinking of it as the anonymous master of the slobbering dragon,” he said, pointing to the grotesque beast rendered at the foot of the artwork. “It’s a very important picture in terms of its scale, its quality, and its state of preservation. The iconography is compelling, and it has all the elements of a work associated with the Netherlands in the early 16th century. It’s been suggested it might be an early work by Jan Gossaert. It’s a painting of extraordinary technical ability.”
That Dutch Old Master is well represented in the museum. Two paintings away is his impressive Adoration of the Kings (1510–15).
Finaldi then led me into the central galleries, which are decked out with religious works, including large-scale altarpieces, as though they really were being shown in a Florentine basilica (as was the intention of Venturi and Scott Brown). A crucifix by a 14th-century Sienese artist is particularly striking. It’s shown hanging, mimicking the way crucifixes were displayed during the 14th and 15th centuries in Italy. A little further on is a composite altarpiece comprising several different panels from the 1370s by Italian artist Jacopo di Cione. “It’s one of the most magnificent 14th-century altarpieces to survive outside of Italy,” Finaldi said. “For the first time, we’ve brought it together in this new frame, and I think it’s a real set piece moment in the gallery. You’ll also notice that in front of it we’ve got one of these beautiful new vitrines with a predella from a different altar piece by Fra Angelico.”
We then swung around 180 degrees to look down at the opposite end of the sweeping gallery, where there’s a monumental Florentine altar piece from a century later, painted by brother Antonio and Piero del Pollaiuolo in 1470. It’s titled The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. “There’s something quite didactic about this arrangement because in one direction, we have how the 14th century viewed the altarpiece, but as you turn around, you notice how the multi-image composite depiction has become this sort of great window, this single scene. This evolution is within the context of an aesthetic hang which recognizes the passage of time and the activity of artists in different regions.”
For anyone who was worried that some of the museum’s beloved works might be moved or taken away, rest assured, they are all still holding court, such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks (1483–1486) and Piero della Francesca’s Baptism of Christ (1460). The reinstalled Battle of San Romano (1432) by Paolo Uccello is a personal favorite.
Let’s not forget, rehangs can go wrong. Remember when Tate Britain’s messed around with its own collection only two year? The museum was accused of putting politics ahead of art and faced severe pushback for it. That rehang pushed the envelope. Does the National Gallery’s? Not really, but the works are now more prominent, and that’s enough. The gamble has paid off.
The National Gallery hopes the massive sum spent on the Sainsbury Wing’s refurb will draw in bigger crowds at a time when British museums, especially regional ones, are struggling. Ministers have slashed the UK’s art and culture budget in recent years. Since 2017 alone, local government funding in England has fallen by almost 50 percent.
“The future is uncertain,” Finaldi said. “The national museums are well-supported, but we’re expected to do more and more ourselves—grant-in-aid is not going up, quite the opposite—but the National Gallery has a certain amount of freedom to raise funding, either from our own commercial activities or from philanthropy. Where the situation is much more critical is in regional museums across the country. And in the broader cultural sector, Arts Council funding has been impacted, putting civic museums run by corporations in real difficulty. That means people are not getting access to their own museums and their collections as they have in the past. It’s regrettable.”
Finaldi also lamented the fact that it’s been harder for the National Gallery to employ talented staff from overseas since Brexit. While on the topic of Brexit, I asked him if he bought into the well-worn narrative that London was in danger of losing its status as a cultural powerhouse alongside New York, Paris, and other art capitals. “Auction sales are getting smaller, and there’s more happening in Paris these days, for example, but in terms of the kind of cultural experience people can have in London, we still have an amazingly rich, unparalleled offering. We also have great reserves of knowledge and expertise.”
And to round things off on a more positive note, I concluded by asking Finaldi what he’s most proud of as director of the National Gallery to date (he was appointed in 2015). “That’s a tough question I’m proud that we’ve introduced some new works into the collection, like a major painting by Artemisia Gentileschi in 2018. She is a vital historical figure, so it’s brilliant to add more female artists.”
