9 April 2008
Friday is free day at the Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman
Amphitheatre
On Friday 11 April, the Guildhall Art Gallery will hold a
‘lunchtime special’ event to remind City workers, families and art
lovers that entry to the Gallery and its Roman amphitheatre is free
of charge all day on Fridays.
The first 20 people to join the queue for today’s 12.15pm tour
of the Art Gallery and Roman Amphitheatre will receive a free
‘goodie bag’, containing a 35-page illustrated guide to the
Guildhall Art Gallery, a brochure of current and forthcoming
exhibitions and events, a ‘Lifting the Lid on Art’ resource pack,
five art postcards and a complimentary glass of white wine or
soft drink.
During their lunchtime visit, people will discover a wealth of
paintings, photographs and sculptures, including John Singleton
Copley’s enormous masterpiece, The Defeat of the Floating
Batteries; Edward Onslow Ford’s statue of Sir Henry Irving as
Hamlet; and two of the Gallery’s most popular ‘London’ paintings,
The Ninth of November by William Logsdail and Nils Moeller Lund’s
The Heart of the Empire.
In the basement, visitors will find a fascinating slice of
London’s Roman past - the excavated remains of the capital’s
5,000-seater amphitheatre, whose arena is marked out in black
paving stones outside in Guildhall Yard.
The present Guildhall Art Gallery, which is owned by the City of
London Corporation and built on the site of the old Gallery on
Guildhall Yard, opened in November 1999. The building’s
construction was held up by the discovery on the site of the
amphitheatre, which was preserved and opened to the public in June
2002.
Vivien Knight, curator of Guildhall Art Gallery, says: “The
Gallery is a beautiful space in the heart of the City, a few
minutes’ walk from the hustle and bustle of Cheapside and Poultry.
Whether visitors take a guided tour or wander around at their own
pace, there’s so much to discover, whether it’s one of Sir Matthew
Smith’s nudes, a bronze bust of a young Prince Charles or the
remains of a chamber for wild animals in the amphitheatre.”
Admission to the Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman Amphitheatre
usually costs £2.50 for adults and £1.00 for concessions. Entry is
free of charge to City workers and residents, as well as all day on
Fridays and from 3.30pm on other days. Opening hours are Monday –
Saturday 10.00am – 5.00pm; and 12.00 noon – 4.00pm on Sundays.
Ends
Notes for editors
The Guildhall Art Gallery can be found at Guildhall Yard,
London, EC2Y 5HN; telephone 020 7332 3700
The City of London provides local government services for the
Square Mile, the financial and commercial heart of Britain, and is
committed to maintaining and enhancing the status of the business
City as the world's leading international financial and business
centre through its policies and services. Its responsibilities also
extend far beyond the City boundaries and include management of
Guildhall Art Gallery, Barbican Centre, Central Criminal Court at
the Old Bailey, 10,700 acres of open space including Hampstead
Heath and Epping Forest, three wholesale food markets, as well as
acting as the London Port Health Authority.
Press contact
For more information, interview requests and images, please
contact:
Andrew Buckingham, Press Officer, City of London: 020 7332 1452,
07795 333 060,
andrew.buckingham@cityoflondon.gov.uk