National Gallery masterpieces are coming to this south London suburb

If you want to feast your eyes on the world’s most iconic masterpieces in London, next month you won’t have to trek all the way into central to do so. Croydon will become one of the city’s hottest arty hubs thanks to a new show of National Gallery masterpieces.

Paintings including Van Gogh’s legendary painting ‘Sunflowers’ and works by Michelangelo, Monet, Picasso and Renoir will be scattered throughout the south London town next month as part of the National Gallery’s free ‘Art on Your Doorstep’ programme.

Before you get too excited (or worried about these paintings being exposed to the elements), no, the real masterpieces aren’t being shown in Croydon. The artworks are life-sized reproductions – though they’ll still be very much worth a look.

‘The National Gallery: Art On Your Doorstep’ is a programme aiming to bring life-sized reproductions of 30 world-famous paintings to neighbourhoods across the UK. The project has already been to Stoke and will also come to 10 other UK locations between now and 2027.

Croydon is the first London borough on the docket. The exhibition will debut on February 3 and run all the way until July 5.

So, where exactly can you search out these iconic pieces of art in Croydon? They’ll be dotted around town centre locations including The Queen’s Gardens, Croydon Minster, Whitgift Shopping Centre and Park Hill Park. The National Gallery is also installing artworks in Coulsdon, New Addington, Purley, Thornton Heath and Upper Norwood.

Croydonites with artistic flair of your own, listen up, because the exhibition also has an interactive element. British visual artist Rachel Gadsden has come on board to lead free drop-in workshops during February half-term (Feb 16-22). Open to everyone and all ages, the sessions invite you to use oil pastels, charcoal and other materials to make your own art which will later be displayed as part of the ‘Croydon Masterpiece’. Cool, eh? The final collabed work will go on public display in May.

Hannah Widgington, exhibitions manager at The National Gallery commented on the project: ‘Art on Your Doorstep brings some of the nation’s most beloved paintings right into the heart of Croydon. The trail offers a rare chance to encounter these works beyond the familiar gallery walls and weaves them into everyday life.

‘Local residents have helped select the artworks featured on the trail and will contribute their own creative responses to form the Croydon Masterpiece - a testament to the borough’s imagination, pride, and artistic energy.’

A map of the artworks is available to download from culturecroydon.com or to collect at Croydon libraries.

For outdoorsy art lovers, London has a treasure trove of works to view for free. Here’s our list of the Big Smoke’s top 20 public sculptures to explore.

Did you see that London art museum The Courtauld is opening two new galleries of contemporary art?

Plus: a new 550-seat theatre will open next to Marble Arch this summer.