The National Gallery’s landmark Van Gogh exhibition has closed with a record-breaking 334,589 visitors, making it the most popular ticketed show in the institution’s history. The exhibition’s final weekend saw unprecedented demand, prompting the Gallery to open overnight for only the second time ever.
“Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers” surpassed previous attendance records held by Leonardo da Vinci (323,827) and Velázquez (302,520). During its final weekend alone, 19,582 people visited – averaging one person every 10 seconds.
Sir Gabriele Finaldi, National Gallery Director, celebrated the achievement: “Van Gogh has become a talisman for passion, authenticity and commitment to his art. The paintings in this exhibition are among his most striking works and have a freshness and immediacy about them.”
The exhibition, which ran for 125 days with an average of 2,676 daily visits, showcased over 60 works from museums and private collections worldwide. It marked the Gallery’s first Van Gogh exhibition and the first anywhere to focus on the artist’s imaginative transformations.
The success launches the National Gallery’s 200th anniversary year, which includes several major developments:
- Reopening of the renovated Sainsbury Wing (May 10)
- New Learning Centre opening (March 3)
- Launch of the Supporters House
- Major collection rehang: “The Wonder of Art”
Upcoming exhibitions include “Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350” (March 8 – June 22) and the first UK exhibition of Mexican artist José María Velasco (March 29 – August 17).
For those who missed the exhibition, a 90-minute film “Exhibition on Screen: Van Gogh Poets and Lovers” is showing in cinemas across the UK and Europe, featuring insights from curators and close-up views of the artworks.
