Van Gogh…to bed: National Gallery offers ‘world-first’ overnight stay

One person will soon have the rarest room key in London — a bed for the night at the National Gallery, surrounded by some of the most significant paintings in Western art history

To mark its 200th anniversary, the central London gallery has launched a prize draw offering a member of the public the opportunity to stay overnight in its newly refurbished Sainsbury Wing. 

The winner will spend the night of Friday 9 May in a bed positioned on the ‘bridge’ — the raised walkway connecting the Sainsbury Wing to the rest of the building — within sight of works by artists including Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Monet and Titian.

The sleepover will take place ahead of the gallery’s full public reopening on Saturday 10 May, following more than two years of refurbishment. According to the National Gallery, it is the first time in its history that a member of the public has been invited to sleep inside the building.

“In a first for a British art gallery, a member of the public will be able to wake up in the heart of one of the world’s greatest collections,” the Gallery said.

While the exhibits won’t come to life as they do in the Ben Stiller film Night at the Museum, the winner will be given access to the galleries after closing time and experience what the Gallery described as “a true opportunity to see the bigger picture and experience the wonder of art”.

The winning guest will be the first member of the public to view CC Land: The Wonder of Art, the most significant redisplay of the Gallery’s collection in its 200-year history. The exhibition brings together more than 1,000 works tracing the Western European painting tradition from the 13th to the 20th centuries.

“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,” the Gallery said in a statement.

The experience will begin with dinner for two at Locatelli, the Gallery’s new restaurant, opening soon under Michelin-starred chef Giorgio Locatelli in partnership with Searcys. After the gallery has closed to the public, the winner will be taken on a private tour of the exhibition with a National Gallery curator.

On the morning of Saturday 10 May, a breakfast hamper will be provided before the winner is given exclusive early access to the galleries, ahead of the public reopening at 10am.

The bed will be dressed with items from the Marks & Spencer x National Gallery homeware collection, launched as part of the Gallery’s NG200 bicentenary programme.

The NG200 campaign is described by the Gallery as “a year-long festival of art, creativity and imagination”, taking place across the UK, internationally, and at its Trafalgar Square site. “This has led us into our third century of bringing people and paintings together,” it said.

The prize draw is open until 6pm on Monday 28 April. Anyone aged 18 or over who subscribes to the National Gallery’s newsletter will be entered automatically.

 To enter, visit: nationalgallery.org.uk/wake-up


Main image: NG200 Wake up to the CC 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