+44 7789 523 115 info@london-ai.co.uk
The National Gallery contains some of the world’s most famous and precious paintings.
But we can only see them now – and in such good condition – because they were hidden away from the public for many years!
When it became clear the Second World War was about to break out and that London would be bombed, it was agreed that the Gallery’s pictures couldn’t safely stay in place. Some suggested they should go by ship to Canada, but Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave an order: “bury them in caves or in cellars, but not a picture shall leave these islands“.
By the day war was declared all the pictures had left London, and they ended up being stored together deep underground in a disused slate mine in North Wales.
While the paintings were safe, the Gallery was bombed nine times, and by 1945 not a pane of glass in the roof was unbroken!
When the bombing eased off later in the war, one picture a month was brought to London so the public could see at least some great art – and a “Picture of The Month” is still displayed today.
Not only did ‘burying’ the pictures save them from bombs, curators discovered that storing them at constant temperature and humidity helped conserve them in good condition – a lesson that is still useful today.
So when you join my tour and see such masterpieces as ‘Sunflowers’, ‘The Hay Wain’ and ‘The Ambassadors’, think how close they came to being lost forever, and how fortunate we are to be able to view them today.