100 best paintings in London: full list

Leading artists, gallery owners, curators and critics pick the best paintings to be seen in the capital

Friday 25 May 2018

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So many paintings, so little time. With London home to art gallery after world-class art gallery, picking a painting to go visit can be tricky. So howsabout starting with this list of 'The 100 best paintings in London', drawn up from over 600 nominees.

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

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100-81

100. 'A Wall in Naples' - Thomas Jones

WHEN? 1782
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Study of Cirrus Clouds'

WHEN? 1928
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Modern
I LIKE IT See also 'Self-Portrait'

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98. 'Monument' - Philip Guston

WHEN? 1976
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'The Visit'

WHEN? 1842
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Britain
I LIKE IT See also 'The Fighting Temeraire'

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96. 'Self-Portrait as a Young Man' - Stanley Spencer

WHEN? 1914
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'The Menin Road'

WHEN? 1960
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Modern
I LIKE IT See also 'I Love the Whole World'

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94. 'The Beach at Trouville' - Claude Monet

WHEN? 1870
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Combing the Hair'

'A Cornfield by Moonlight with the Evening Star' - Samuel Palmer

WHEN? 1830
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? British Museum
I LIKE IT See also 'The Ghost of a Flea'

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92. 'Cupid Complaining to Venus' - Lucas Cranach

WHEN? 1525
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'An Allegory with Venus and Cupid'

WHEN? 1964
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'The Citizen'

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90. 'Fall' - Bridget Riley

WHEN? 1963
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'Six Mile Bottom'

'Melanie and me Swimming' - Michael Andrews

WHEN? 1978-1979
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Britain
I LIKE IT See also 'Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy'

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88. 'Self-Portrait at the Age of 63' - Rembrandt van Rijn

WHEN? 1669
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Self-Portrait with Two Circles'

WHEN? 1925
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Modern
I LIKE IT See also 'The Three Dancers'

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86. 'The Card Players' - Paul Cézanne

WHEN? 1892
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Courtauld Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Mont Sainte-Victoire with a Large Pine'

'Doge Leonardo Loredan' - Giovanni Bellini

WHEN? 1501
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Madonna of the Meadow'

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84. 'Madonna of the Meadow' - Giovanni Bellini

WHEN? 1500
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Doge Leonardo Loredan'

WHEN? 1764
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Kenwood House
I LIKE IT See also 'Mr and Mrs Andrews'

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82. 'Study of Cirrus Clouds' - John Constable

WHEN? 1822
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? V&A
I LIKE IT See also 'Rain, Steam and Speed'

WHEN? 1891
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Three Dancers'

See 80-61

80-61

80. 'The Interior of the Grote Kerk at Haarlem' - Pieter Saenredam

WHEN? 1636-7
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Laughing Cavalier'

WHEN? 1395
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Baptism of Christ'

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78. 'Diana and Actaeon' - Titian

WHEN? 1556
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Death of Actaeon'

WHEN? Circa 1916
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Courtauld Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Nude Girl'

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76. 'Girl at a Window' - Rembrandt van Rijn

WHEN? 1645
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Dulwich Picture Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Portrait of Margharete de Geer'

WHEN? 1927
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Modern
I LIKE IT See also 'Marguerite Kelsey'

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74. 'The Great Day of His Wrath' - John Martin

WHEN? 1851-3
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'The Fighting Temeraire'

'A Woman Bathing in a Stream' - Rembrandt van Rijn

WHEN? 1654
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Girl at a Window'

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72. 'A Bigger Splash' - David Hockney

WHEN? 1967
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Britain
I LIKE IT See also 'Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy'

'Mr and Mrs Andrews' - Thomas Gainsborough

WHEN? 1750
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Mary Countess of Howe'

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70. 'Portrait of Margharete de Geer' - Rembrandt van Rijn

WHEN? 1661
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Self-Portrait with Two Circles'

'Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting' - Artemisia Gentileschi

WHEN? 1638
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Royal Collection and is currently on show in the Cumberland Art Gallery at Hampton Court Palace.
I LIKE IT See also 'Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist'

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68. 'The Lady with a Fan' - Diego Velázquez

WHEN? c1640
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Wallace Collection
I LIKE IT See also 'The Rokeby Venus'

WHEN? 1999
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This installation is currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britainto see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'No Woman, No Cry'

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66. 'The Visit' - Willem de Kooning

WHEN? 1966-1967
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'Monument'

WHEN? 1486
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Madonna of the Meadow'

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64. 'The Execution of Maximilion' - Edouard Manet

WHEN? 1867
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'A Bar at the Folies-Bergère'

'The Triumph of David' - Nicholas Poussin

WHEN? 1631
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Dulwich Picture Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Supper at Emmaus'

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62. 'Cage 1-6' - Gerhard Richter

WHEN? 2006
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'The Four Seasons'

WHEN? 2000
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? You can see this painting at Tate Modern in the Agnes Martin retrospective (Jun 3 - Oct 13).
I LIKE IT See also 'Six Mile Bottom'

See 60-41

60-41

60. 'The Menin Road' - Paul Nash

WHEN? 1919
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Imperial War Museum
I LIKE IT See also 'Gassed'

WHEN? 1914
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Britain
I LIKE IT See also 'The Menin Road'

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58. 'After Lunch' - Patrick Caulfield

WHEN? 1975
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'A Bigger Splash'

'Christ Mocked (The Crowning with Thorns)' - Hieronymus Bosch

WHEN? 1490
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Arnolfini Portrait'

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56. 'No Woman, No Cry' - Chris Ofili

WHEN? 1998
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'The Upper Room'

WHEN? 1844
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Fighting Temeraire'

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54. 'The Fig-Leaf' - Francis Picabia

WHEN? 1922
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Modern
I LIKE IT See also 'The Three Dancers'

WHEN? 1962
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'The Seagram Murals'

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52. 'Gassed' - John Singer Sargent

WHEN? 1919
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Imperial War Museum
I LIKE IT See also 'The Menin Road'

WHEN? 1950
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Britain
I LIKE IT See also 'Triptych – August 1972'

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50. 'Laughing Cavalier' - Frans Hals

WHEN? 1624
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Wallace Collection
I LIKE IT See also 'Girl at a Window'

WHEN? 1987
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'Cage 1-6'

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48. 'Self-Portrait' - Gwen John

WHEN? 1902
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Britain
I LIKE IT See also 'Nude Girl'

WHEN? 1925
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Modern
I LIKE IT See also 'Weeping Woman'

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46. 'Nude Girl' - Gwen John

WHEN? 1909-10
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Britain
I LIKE IT See also 'Self-Portrait'

'Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist' - Caravaggio

WHEN? 1607
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Supper at Emmaus'

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44. 'Mummy Portrait of a Woman' - Unknown artist

WHEN? –
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? British Museum
I LIKE IT See also 'Portrait of Margharete de Geer'

WHEN? 1839
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Peace: Burial at Sea'

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42. 'The Ghost of a Flea' - William Blake

WHEN? 1819
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Britain
I LIKE IT See also 'A Cornfield by Moonlight with the Evening Star'

'An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump' - Joseph Wright of Derby

WHEN? 1768
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Mr and Mrs Andrews'

See 40-21

40-21

40. 'Echo Lake' - Peter Doig

'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' - Dorothea Tanning

WHEN? 1943
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Modern
I LIKE IT See also 'Weeping Woman'

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38. 'Nocturne Blue and Gold: Old Battersea Bridge' - James Abbott McNeill Whistler

WHEN? 1872
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'Gassed'

'The Burlington House Cartoon' - Leonardo da Vinci

WHEN? 1499
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Annunciation'

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36. 'The Snail' - Henri Matisse

WHEN? 1953
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'Weeping Woman'

'A Cup of Water and a Rose' - Francisco de Zurburán

WHEN? 1630
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Water-Seller of Seville'

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34. 'Combing the Hair' - Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas

WHEN? 1896
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Beach at Trouville'

'A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal' - Johannes Vermeer

WHEN? 1670
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Guitar Player'

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32. 'Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy' - David Hockney

WHEN? 1970
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Britain
I LIKE IT See also 'Melanie and me Swimming'

'A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling' - Hans Holbein the Younger

WHEN? 1526
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Ambassadors'

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30. 'An Allegory with Venus and Cupid' - Bronzino

WHEN? 1545
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Cupid Complaining to Venus'

WHEN? 1959
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'Abstract Painting No 5'

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28. 'Weeping Woman' - Pablo Picasso

WHEN? 1937
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'The Three Dancers'

'Mont Sainte-Victoire with a Large Pine' - Paul Cézanne

WHEN? 1887
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Courtauld Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Card Players'

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26. 'The Death of Actaeon' - Titian

WHEN? 1559
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'Diana and Actaeon'

WHEN? 1993
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'Electric Chair'

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24. 'Bacchus and Ariadne' - Titian

WHEN? 1520
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Death of Actaeon'

WHEN? 1470
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Baptism of Christ'

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22. 'The Rokeby Venus' - Diego Velázquez

WHEN? 1647
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'The Water-Seller of Seville'

'The Fairy-Feller's Masterstroke' - Richard Dadd

WHEN? 1855
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'Ophelia'

See 20-1

20-1

20. 'Ophelia' - John Everett Millais

WHEN? 1851
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Tate Britain
I LIKE IT See also 'The Fairy-Feller's Masterstroke'

WHEN? 1767
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? Wallace Collection
I LIKE IT See also 'Mary Countess of Howe'

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18. 'Whistlejacket' - George Stubbs

WHEN? 1762
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? National Gallery
I LIKE IT See also 'An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump'

WHEN? 1994
WHERE CAN I SEE IT? This painting is part of the Tate collection but currently not on display. Check Tate Modern or Tate Britain to see when it will next be on show.
I LIKE IT See also 'Echo Lake'

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