On Friday 9 May, for the very first time ever, one lucky person will sleep overnight at the National Gallery - in a bed within sight of the world’s greatest paintings - ahead of its complete public reopening to mark its 200th anniversary.
The National Gallery is launching a prize draw to find the first member of the public to enter the Sainsbury Wing, following its two-year closure, and experience the biggest rehang of the entire collection - C C Land: The Wonder of Art.
In a first for a British art gallery, from 9am on Monday 7 April 2025 anyone over 18, who subscribes to the Gallery’s newsletter* at Wake-Up | Subscribe | National Gallery, London will be entered into a draw for a chance to sleep in a bed, adorned by the Marks & Spencer X National Gallery collection.
The bed will be on the ‘bridge’ that connects the newly refurbished Sainsbury Wing with the rest of the Gallery.
On Friday 9 May the lucky winner will enjoy dinner for two at Locatelli, the National Gallery’s restaurant, soon to be opened by Michelin-starred chef Georgio Locatelli, in partnership with Searcy’s.
The winner will also receive their own private, personal tour of 'C C Land: The Wonder of Art' with a National Gallery curator.
As they make their way through the Gallery, they will see over 1,000 works of art, which trace the development of painting in the Western European tradition from the 13th to 20th centuries, from iconic masterpieces to paintings which have never previously been seen in the National Gallery. The carefully curated rehang will enable them to not only see their favourites returned to the walls, but also those paintings in the context of history, of collecting for the nation and where we are now. A true opportunity to see the bigger picture and experience the wonder of art.
As the winner wakes up on the morning of Saturday 10 May, they will enjoy a breakfast hamper before having the Gallery to themselves to explore ahead of the first public opening of the Sainsbury Wing at 10am.
The competition is open until 6pm on Monday 28 April after which one lucky winner will be randomly selected.
Visitors can see the completed redisplay from 10 May 2025, to coincide with the opening to the public of the transformed Sainsbury Wing after more than two years of building works, reshaping the National Gallery for its third century and the next generation of visitors.
Main Image: NG200 Wake up to the C C Land – The Wonder of Art. Bed, adorned by the Marks & Spencer X National Gallery collection, at the National Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing link © Photo: The National Gallery
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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