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The Guildhall Art Gallery houses the art collection of the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
, England. The museum is located in the Moorgate area of the City of London. It is a stone building in a semi-Gothic style intended to be sympathetic to the historic
Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in some ...
, which is adjacent and to which it is connected internally.


History

The
City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
had commissioned and collected portraits since 1670, originally to hang in the
Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in some ...
. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Corporation's art collections grew through gifts and bequests to include history paintings and other genres of art. The first purpose-built gallery for displaying the collection was completed in . This building was destroyed in
The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
in 1941, resulting in the loss of 164 paintings, drawings, watercolours, and prints, and 20 sculptures. It was not until 1985 that the City of London Corporation decided to redevelop the site and build a new gallery. The building was designed in a
postmodern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...
style by the British architect Richard Gilbert Scott. The new facility, which was intended to house a collection of about 4,000 items, was completed in . The centrepiece of the collection,
John Singleton Copley John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was probably born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Anglo-Irish. Afte ...
's huge painting depicting '' The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar'', was placed in a prominent position in the entrance hall of the gallery.
Vivien Knight Vivien Margaret Knight (9 November 1953 – 18 December 2009), was a British art historian and gallerist, and the head of the Guildhall Art Gallery, from 1983 until her death. Early life Knight was born on 9 November 1953, at Solihull Hospital ...
was head of the Gallery, from 1983 until her death in 2009.


Amphitheatre

The Guildhall complex was built on the site of London's Roman amphitheatre, and some of the remains of this are displayed ''in situ'' in a room in the basement of the art gallery.


See also

*
Alfred Temple Sir Alfred George Temple FSA (27 October 1848 – 8 January 1928) was the director of the Guildhall Art Gallery in London, England, from 1886 to 1928. Temple was born in London and educated at Denmark Hill Grammar School. He joined an und ...
, first director of the original gallery *
Statue of Margaret Thatcher, Guildhall Art Gallery The statue of Margaret Thatcher in the Guildhall, London, is a marble sculpture of Margaret Thatcher. It was commissioned in 1998 from the sculptor Neil Simmons by the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art; paid for by an anonymous dono ...


References


External links

* * Art museums and galleries in London Roman London Museums in the City of London Museums of ancient Rome in the United Kingdom Archaeological museums in London Art museums established in 1885 1885 establishments in England {{UK-art-display-stub