Guildhall Art Gallery & Roman Amphitheatre

Art and Power in the City

Tucked within the ancient Guildhall complex in the City of London, the Guildhall Art Gallery is both a civic art collection and a statement of London’s enduring cultural identity. The current building, completed in 1999, replaced a Victorian gallery destroyed in the Blitz of 1941. Designed by Richard Gilbert Scott in a postmodern style that respects the historic Guildhall’s Gothic character, the gallery presents a carefully curated selection from the City of London Corporation’s collection of over 4,500 works. Its mission is clear: to be an art gallery about London, for London, collecting pieces that reflect the city’s people, places and stories.

A Collection Rooted in London

The gallery’s holdings trace back to the late 17th century, when the Corporation began commissioning portraits of Lord Mayors and civic figures for display in the Guildhall. Over time, the collection grew to include history paintings, landscapes, genre scenes and modern works, many with direct links to London. Highlights include John Singleton Copley’s monumental *The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar* in the entrance hall, Victorian masterpieces by artists such as Frederic Leighton and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and evocative views of the capital by Canaletto, Samuel Scott and others. The permanent displays are thoughtfully arranged thematically, exploring ideas of beauty, faith, work, leisure and the home, offering a vivid window into London life across the centuries.

Below the Gallery: London’s Roman Amphitheatre

One of the gallery’s most remarkable features lies beneath its floors: the excavated remains of London’s Roman amphitheatre, dating from around AD 70 and later rebuilt in stone. Discovered during redevelopment in the late 1980s, these well-preserved foundations are now displayed in situ in a dedicated basement space. Visitors can walk around the oval arena, imagining gladiatorial contests and public spectacles that once took place here, just outside the walls of Roman Londinium. The juxtaposition of ancient archaeology and modern art creates a powerful sense of London’s layered history, where millennia of civic life unfold in a single site.

Exhibitions and the London Experience

Beyond its permanent collection, the gallery hosts a changing programme of special exhibitions, often focusing on London’s history, architecture and cultural life. These shows draw on the Corporation’s archives and wider collections, bringing together paintings, prints, photographs and documents to tell compelling stories about the city. The gallery’s airy, naturally lit spaces and thoughtful curation make it ideal for a contemplative visit, whether you’re drawn to Victorian narrative painting, London’s historic markets and bridges, or the evolving identity of the modern metropolis. With free admission and a central location, it remains one of the City’s most rewarding, and sometimes overlooked, cultural destinations.