Form 10

Art Galleries And Museums In London

Read and translate the text 

London is visited by millions of tourists every year. They come there to see the sights of London and to visit London’s museums. There is quite a number of museums and art galleries in London which are world-famous.

The National Gallery is situated in Trafalgar Square and is one of the best-known art galleries in the world. It was founded in 1824 and houses one of the most important collections of Italian paintings outside Italy. It is also famous for its Dutch collection, particularly for paintings by Rembrandt. The National Portrait Gallery is situated near the National Gallery. It is Britain’s leading art gallery of portraits of famous people in British history. The National Portrait Gallery is noted for representing various kinds of portraits - from traditional oil paintings to photographs. Founded in 1856, in 1984 it contained over 800 original portraits and more than 500 000 photographs.

The famous Tate Gallery was opened in 1897 with the financial support of Sir Henry Tate. He also gave a collection of 65 paintings. The Gallery contains a unique collection of British painting from the 16th century to the present day. Turner and Blake are particularly well represented in the collections. The Gallery also has many drawings and modern sculpture.

Victoria and Albert Museum is a collection of fine and applied arts. It contains a great collection of miniature, too. It was opened in 1857 and was named after Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert.

The British Museum was founded in 1753. It contains one of the world’s richest collections of antiquities. It also houses the main collection covering the history of plants, minerals and the animal world. There is also the Reading room of the British Library in the museum.

There is a number of museums in London which are neither art museums or galleries. Nevertheless, they attract tourists from different parts of Great Britain and of the world. You are sure to know about Madame Tusseau’s Museum. It contains hundreds of wax figures which are sculpture portraits of famous personalities - political figures, painters, musicians, sportsmen and even criminals. The Museum of London represents the history of the city from its foundation to its present day. The Museum of Moving Image illustrates the history of cinema.

In other words, any visitor can find a museum to his taste in London.

New Vocabulary:

- to see the sights

an art gallery

to be world-famous

- one of the best-known art galleries

to be founded

to house smth.

an important collection

a painting

- Britain’s leading art gallery

a portrait

to be noted for smth.

to represent smth.

various kinds of portraits

a traditional oil painting

an original portrait

- with the financial support of smb.

to contain a unique collection

to be particularly well represented

modern sculpture

- fine and applied arts

miniature

to be named after smb.

- the world’s richest collection

an antiquity

to cover the history of smth.

- to attract tourists

a wax figure

a sculpture portrait

a famous personality

a political figure

a criminal

from its foundation to its present day

- to one’s taste

Answer the questions:

1)      What collections does the National Gallery house?

2)      What is the National Portrait Gallery noted for?

3)      What painters are particularly well represented in the Tate Gallery?

4)      What kind of museum is Victoria and Albert Museum? Why is it named so?

5)      What are the two departments of the British Museum?

6)      What museums besides art museums and galleries can you find in London?