Picture Gallery of Buckingham Palace goes for refurbishment

Buckingham Palace of London is undergoing a 10-year refit to replace dangerous electrical wiring and boilers, and refurbish other ageing infrastructure, a programme that will cost about $494 million US Dollars and is expected to finish in 2027.

Work has begun to overhaul the Picture Gallery at Queen Elizabeth’s Buckingham Palace, often the backdrop to state visits and receptions held by the monarch and home to some of its best-known Old Master paintings.

As part of this refurbishment process, the 200-year-old roof of the Picture Gallery will be replaced and all the paintings, including works by Canaletto, Vermeer and Rembrandt have been removed for the first time in almost 45 years, as per sources from Buckingham Palace.

The Picture Gallery, one of the principal State Rooms at the palace, was created by George IV in the 1820s.

The Palace sources added that the removal of the pictures is the culmination of months of planning between the reservicing Programme Management Office and Royal Collection Trust.

The works are widely acknowledged as highlights of the Royal Collection and 65 of them would be now going on public display together nearby at The Queen’s Gallery.

Source: Reuters

#BuckinghamPalace #UK #PictureGallery #QueenVictoria #London #RoyalCollection #GeorgeIV #Canaletto #Vermeer #Rembrandt

Back to top