Martyrs and mystics, healers and hermits, visionaries and miracle workers: the images of saints in the Gallery’s collection chart not only a history of devotion but also the development of Western European art itself. Saints takes a close look at how some of the most Splendid depictions of these figures still speak to us across the centuries.

Published by National Gallery Global Ltd/Distributed by Yale University Press

The evocative power of colour is central to the ways in which art appeals to our senses, emotions and imaginations. This book tells the vibrant story of colour from dazzling gold to cobalt blue, highlighting developments such as the use of rare pigments in medieval altarpieces and the invention of the paint tube that enabled Impressionist artists to work outdoors.

Published by National Gallery Global Ltd/Distributed by Yale University Press

From soft furs and velvets to shimmering silks and glittering brocade, for centuries the depiction of clothing has allowed artists to flaunt their skills, flattering sitters and captivating viewers. This book delves into the evolving history of fashion, deciphering the sartorial signals conveyed by fabric, style, jewels, and accessories.

Published by National Gallery Global Ltd/Distributed by Yale University Press

Still-life painting celebrates the extraordinary within the ordinary, offering a timeless reminder of the beauty that surrounds us every day. This book explores the rich variety of the genre through the lens of the National Gallery collection, from seventeenth-century Dutch flowers to Picasso’s modern interpretation.

Published by National Gallery Global Ltd/Distributed by Yale University Press

Francisco de Zurbarán is, alongside Diego Velázquez and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, one of the three great painters of seventeenth-century Spain. His works are celebrated for their startling naturalism, directness, and deep emotional power. He spent most of his life in Seville, then one of the richest cities in Europe, whose maritime links to the Americas made it a hub of global trade. Although he painted mostly for the city’s vast number of religious orders, he also worked for private patrons and the King of Spain, producing altarpieces and painting cycles of staggering scale and ingenuity. An acute observer of reality, his still-life paintings and works for private devotion still appear strikingly vivid today.

Written by experts in the field and featuring exciting new discoveries, this beautifully illustrated publication will explore Zurbarán’s most important commissions, portraits and domestic scenes, offering a fresh appraisal of this singularly gifted artist.

Exhibition Schedule:

The National Gallery, London
(2 May-23 August 2026)

Musée du Louvre, Paris
(7 October 2026-25 January 2027)

Art Institute of Chicago
(28 February-20 June 2027)

Published by The National Gallery Global Ltd/Distributed by Yale University Press

The scene is suffused with bright, hazy sunlight but evokes an eerie stillness. Each figure appears to exist in isolation. Alastair Sooke unravels this intriguing composition, which presents a picture of a society clearly divided by class, and explores how this monumental painting preceded A Sunday on La Grande Jatte – 1884 and Seurat’s ascent to becoming a giant of modern art.

Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press

The 1782 work Self Portrait in a Straw Hat by Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842) is one of the National Gallery’s most captivating paintings. Looking at us directly and holding the tools of her profession, the painter presents herself as an elegant society lady as well as an accomplished professional artist. The pose was modelled on Rubens’s Portrait of Susanna Lunden (?), with whom Vigée Le Brun was making an explicit connection.

Vigée Le Brun’s life spanned a tumultuous period of French history. Lucy Davies examines the artist’s rise to become one of the most successful society portraitists of her age, patronised by Queen Marie-Antoinette. After fleeing the French Revolution in 1789, Vigée Le Brun travelled around Europe and Russia, eventually returning to a transformed Paris.

Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press

One of the most famous artists of the late nineteenth century, Millet has not been the subject of a publication in the UK since the 1970s. Accompanying a focused exhibition at the National Gallery, this book examines important aspects of his work, including his artistic practice, his use of models, his method of painting from memory and depictions of women at work on the land are also discussed, particularly their tasks in relation to those of male labourers.

A following text considers Millet’s most celebrated painting, The Angelus, the critical response to it in France and its legacy. The final essay concentrates on Millet in Britain, exploring his popularity among collectors in the late nineteenth century, and his relationships with them and other artists.

Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press

The National Gallery, London
7 August – 19 October 2025

Alongside an overview of the painter’s life, Ross King considers the profound impact of Japanese art on Monet’s working practice, the historical events of the time, the artist’s fascination with painting bridges, and the personal tragedy that led to his ultimate desire to capture and immortalise on canvas a succession of ever-changing moments in his garden.