An understanding of European history and culture will best be gained by visiting the top art galleries in the United Kingdom.
From becoming the European leaders in portraiture, landscape art, decorative art, and fine art in the 18th century, the United Kingdom has become one of the key centers for Contemporary art.
The United Kingdom has given the art world some its finest talent such as William Blake, J.M.W Turner, John Constable, Samuel Palmer, Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds, George Stubbs, John Singleton Copley, John Everett Millais, Graham Sutherland, Damien Hirst, Rachel Whitehead, and Tracey Emin.
You can find and admire their works as well as of other brilliant artists from the United Kingdom in the galleries included in our list.
Albemarle Gallery
Founded more than 20 years ago by Tony Pontone, the Albemarle Gallery has established itself as one of the leading proponents of Contemporary and Figurative art.
Pontone, who serves as the gallery’s Creative Director, continues to find and showcase the works of past and upcoming talent in the world of fine art.
Over the past few years, Albemarle Gallery has run exhibitions on the creations of Alfredo Roldan, Jeongwoong Lee, Dina Brodsky, Michelle Doll, Dolly Thompsett, and Jamil Naqsh.
The gallery plans to continue its course of presenting the masterpieces of award winning artists. In its current roster are highly-acclaimed and multi-awarded artists such as Miriam Escofet, Caroline Burraway, Neil Douglas, and Bae Joonsung.
Address: (at Pontone Gallery), 43 Cadogan Gardens, London SW3 2TB
Annely Juda Fine Art
Annely Juda is a German-born art dealer who founded the Annely Juda Fine Art Gallery in 1960.
Juda has directed the focus of her gallery toward the exhibition of the most definitive representations of art styles such as Old Masters of the 20th century, Avant-Garde, and Russian Constructivism.
The gallery has produced a number of landmark exhibitions over the last decade including The Non-Objective World (1970), From Figuration to Abstraction (1986), 1945: The End of the War (1995), The Thirties: Influences on Abstract Art in Britain (1998), American Beauty (2002), and The Great Experiment: Russian Art: Homage to Camilla Gray (2009).
Annely Juda Art Gallery continues to showcase the masterpieces of 20th century masters such as Naum Gabo, Kasimir Malevich, Lazslo Moholy- Nagy, Ben Nicholson, Alexander Rodchenko, and Kurt Schwitters.
Address: 23 Dering St London, W1S 1AW
Derek Johns Old Master Paintings
From a Director of Sotheby’s in 1968 to opening his namesake gallery in 1996, Derek Johns has continued to pursue his passion for propagating the greatest masterpieces of Old Master paintings covering the 13th century to the 18th century.
The focus of the Derek Johns Gallery is to highlight works of artists from Spanish, Italian, and French traditions. Johns has not limited the fine works of art to his primary expertise.
His gallery also showcases paintings from the 19th and 20th century as well as the Viceregal and South American masterpieces.
While Derek Johns continues to steer the creative direction of the gallery, he is assisted by Ellida Minelli, who joined the company in 2011.
The Derek Johns Gallery has participated in the following exhibitions: TEFAF Maastricht, Frieze Masters in London, the Biennale dell’Antiquariato in Florence, Paris Tableau, the Winter Antiques Show in New York, plus various art fairs in Palm Beach, Tokyo, Rome, and Milan.
Address: 12, Duke Street St James’s, London.
Lisson Gallery
Lisson Gallery is one of the oldest and most influential fine art galleries in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Nicholas Logsdail in 1967.
Logsdail was instrumental in putting the paintings of Minimal and Conceptual artists at the forefront of English fine art.
These artists included Art & Language, Carl Andre, Daniel Buren, Donald Judd, John Latham, Sol LeWitt, Richard Long, and Robery Ryman.
As the gallery entered the new millennium, it expanded its roster of talent to include international artists such as Marina Abramovic, Ai Weiwei, John Akomfah, Susan Hiller, and Tatsuo Miyajima.
Lisson Gallery has presented its collection at the most definitive exhibitions including Art Basel in Hong Kong, Frieze Los Angeles, the Dallas Art Fair, and events held in New York and Milan.
Address: 52-54 Bell Street, London.
Marlborough Fine Art Gallery
Frank Lloyd and Harry Fischer escaped the horrors of World War 2 in Austria to open the Marlborough Fine Art Gallery in the United Kingdom in 1946.
Lloyd had come from 3 generations of art dealers while Fischer’s expertise lay in antiquarian books. A chance encounter as soldiers in the Pioneer Corps of the British Army led to a mutual discovery of fine art.
While the gallery initially focused on Modern German Art, it eventually shifted its direction toward 20th century art from the masters of Germany and Austria.
Through a series of landmark exhibition beginning 1959, the gallery successfully introduced an appreciation for the works of the old master to the United Kingdom.
These exhibitions included Art in Revolt, Germany 1905-1925, Kandinsky, the Road to Abstraction, The Painters of the Bauhaus, plus events that showcased the works of Die Brucke and Kurt Schwitters.
The Marlborough Fine Art Gallery has collaborated with several distinguished museums and galleries to host retrospectives.
Among these collaborations involved the Tate Gallery in New York and London, the Jewish Museum in Berlin, the Kuntsmuseum in Bonn, and the British Museum.
Address: Scandia House, 6 Albemarle St, London.
Richard Nagy Gallery
After 9 years of dealing Modernist art, Richard Nagy finally opened his first art gallery in 1989. Eventually, Nagy transferred the gallery to its current location in Dover Street.
In addition to Modernist art, Nagy also has interest in the masterpieces of Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt. The Richard Nagy Gallery presently houses acclaimed works of German Expressionism such as Die Brucke, Der Blaue Reiter, and Neue Sachlichkeit.
The Richard Nagy Gallery is a regular participant in international art fairs. These events include The International Fine Art & Antique Fair in New York, TEFAF in Maastrict, Art Basel, Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris, Pavilion of Art & Design in London, Pavilion of Art & Design in New York, Salon du Dessin in Paris, The Salon: Art and Design in New York, and the Frieze Masters in London.
Address: 13 Dover Street, London
Simon Dickinson Gallery
Simon Dickinson Gallery is one of the leading experts in Old Master fine art primarily of masterpieces from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The gallery’s success lies in the capability of its founder, Simon Dickinson, the former Senior Director of Christie’s Old Master and British Pictures, and David Ker, a former dealer of 18th and 19th century Old Master and British Pictures. Dickinson and Ker established the gallery in 1993.
In 1995, Dickinson welcomed James Roundell to the team as the gallery expanded its exhibit to include Impressionist and Modern art. Eventually, the Simon Dickinson Gallery transitioned to Contemporary art.
The gallery remains an active participant in the biggest art exhibits in the world such as TEFAF Maastricht, Frieze Masters, TEFAF New York, and Masterpiece in London.
Address: 58 Jermyn St, London
Weiss Gallery
The Weiss Gallery was founded by Mark Weiss in 1985; 8 years after a chance discovery of a rare portrait of Queen Christina of Stockholm resulted in a profitable sale to the Museum of Fine Arts in Stockholm.
The gallery specializes in dealing Tudor, Stuart, and Northern European Old Master portraiture.
Among the masterpieces on exhibit are Louis XII, King of France by Jacob de Litemont, Fragmented Right Wing of an Altarpiece by Dirck Jacobsz, Lady Margaret Wotton – Marchioness of Dorset by Hans Holbien the Younger, Edward VI of England from the studio of William Scrots, and Filippo di Pierro Strozzi by Pierre Dumonstier.
For the past 30 years, the Weiss Gallery has been an active participant in TEFAF Maastricht and London Art Week.
Address: 59 Jermyn Street, London
The Whitechapel Gallery
With its inauguration dating back to 1901, the Whitechapel Gallery is one of the oldest art galleries in London. Its purpose was to introduce the people of east London to the greatest works in fine art.
One of the gallery’s most important milestones was the exhibition of Pablo Picasso’s Guernica in 1939.
The event marked the only time Picasso’s masterpiece made its way to British shores. The great American Expressionist, Jackson Pollock, had his first major show in the United Kingdom at Whitechapel Gallery in 1959.
Other memorable exhibitions at Whitechapel Gallery involved the works of David Hockney, Gilbert & George, Richard Long, Donald Judd, Cy Twombly, Cindy Sherman, Lucian Freud, Liam Gillick, Nan Goldin, Christina Iglesias, Paul McCarthy, Mark Wallinger, and Franz West.
The Whitechapel Gallery has also established prizes, awards, and citations in collaboration with various organizations. The gallery gives recognition to people who have contributed to the advancement of fine art in London.
Among the awards given out include the Max Mara Art Prize for Women, the Whitechapel Art Gallery Icon with Swarovski, the Jarman Award, and the NEON Curatorial Award.
Address: 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London
The Albany Gallery
The Albany Gallery was established in 1965. Since then, the gallery has continued its mission to present the finest works of British and Welsh artists.
Patrons of the gallery include the Royal Academicians, the New English Art Club, The Society of Women Artists, and The Royal Cambrian Academy.
Presently, the gallery houses the creations of Steve Alport, Diana Armfield Ra, Ceri Auckland Davies, Colin Bishop, Harry Brioche, Dominic Butler, Colin Carruthers, Gerald Green, Thomas Haskett, Josef Herman Ra, David Knight, Chris Prout, Gareth Thomas, Henry Walsh, and Stephen Yardley just to name a few.
Address: 74b Albany Rd, London