A queen-to-be and an ex-Beatle, the National Portrait Gallery in London has reopened after a three-year refurbishment in the presence of Princess Kate and Paul McCartney.
Dedicated entirely to portraiture, the popular museum has had a £41.3million revamp in recent years. The wife of the British heir to the throne, Prince William, is the patron of the institution. From next week, ex-Beatle Sir Paul will be showing photographs he took in 1963 and 1964 in a special exhibition.
Among other things, Kate, who is committed to early childhood education, visited a new learning center at the museum, which will host programs for children under five from September.
Kate studied art history
Then she was guided through the exhibition. She was struck by the colors and tones of a 1776 painting by painter Joshua Reynolds of the first Polynesian visitor to Britain, named Mai or Omai, and includes one of the earliest depictions of tattoos in a portrait. Kate gushed that she could spend “forever” looking at the pictures.
Kate then met the 81-year-old ex-Beatle and his wife Nancy Shevell in the museum shop to talk about his exhibition.
Museum director Nicholas Cullinan was enthusiastic about the royal visit. The Princess of Wales is “amazing” and has shown genuine passion for the art on display, according to Cullinan.
The museum was first opened in 1856. The main collection of the National Portrait Gallery contains more than 11,000 portraits of famous and important figures in Great Britain, including 4000 paintings. Some of these may have shaped the image of historical figures such as British monarchs or the playwright William Shakespeare.
The gallery near Trafalgar Square is open to the public from this Thursday. Admission to the permanent exhibition is free.
