Last night’s National Gallery summer party saw guests carousing among some of the finest pictures ever painted. Sadly it was so hot that most chose to congregate around the air-con vents in the floor rather than the Turners and Vernets.
Tickets were pricey. The National is valiantly trying to fundraise before its bicentenary next year, and staff spent last night trying to flog “unique experiences” to guests. These, the National says, will make “the world’s most iconic artworks… exclusively yours”. They include £10,000 drawing lessons for toddlers. “The children and their accompanying adults will have the galleries all to themselves,” promises a brochure. Also on offer are tours followed by dinner among the paintings (£75,000) and a private piano recital with champagne reception (£50,000).
