Van Gogh After Dark at The National Gallery

If you haven’t managed to visit The National Gallery’s first exhibition devoted to the work of Van Gogh, it's not too late. Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers is in its final days of showing and for only the second time in the Gallery’s history, doors will be open all night long in a 24-hour viewing of the collection.

Experience ‘Starry Night over the Rhône’ in the dark hours of the morning or bask in the beauty of the ‘Sunflowers’ as the sun rises over the city. Wander through more than 60 works of Van Gogh artistry at any hour of your choosing - including during the entire night of Friday 17th until 8am Saturday 18th, or from 8-10 am on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th when the exhibition is open exclusively to members and you can view the works unobstructed by public ticket-holders. 

If you're not a member already, you can purchase one online or in person and you will be issued with a temporary membership card, so you can visit any time. You may have a short wait – the exhibition is expected to be very busy this weekend.  Memberships start at £68 and offer exclusive access and priority viewing to events throughout the year.

The decision to open for the whole night is not just about selling more tickets to the exhibition. It is a way for the public to experience art in keeping with the way some artists did in the past..Sir Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery commented: “As part of our opening for the last weekend our visitors will have the rare and special opportunity to experience Van Gogh’s pictures during the night and early hours of the morning following in the footsteps of artists such as Freud, Bacon and Hockney who came here during those times to take inspiration from the Gallery’s collection.”

SPHERE's Online Editor Lisa Barnard visited the Van Gogh exhibition last Sunday evening, another time when the Gallery allowed exceptional opening hours from 6-10pm. "I was kicking myself that I hadn't booked a ticket before the exhibition was sold out. So I bought a membership and called the Gallery to find out when would be a good time to visit. A very helpful person told me about these exceptional opening hours, so I went that evening. The exhibition is unmissable and brilliantly curated."

From Van Gogh’s most famous works including ‘Van Gogh’s Chair’, to some less familiar works and carefully developed drawings, the exhibition gives consideration to how these may have been displayed at the artist's home in Arles or exhibited in Paris. Featuring works already housed within the National Gallery, including the famous Sunflowers (marking 100 years of the Gallery's purchase), it also incorporates loans from museums and private collections around the globe The central theme to the exhibition focuses on the inspiration of poetry and love and how these themes were incorporated into Van Gogh’s work. 

If you buy a membership to the National Gallery, there are some great exhibitions in the pipeline for 2025.  Other ticketed exhibitions include José María Velasco: A View of Mexico (29 March ‒ 17 August 2025) and Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300‒1350 (8 March ‒ 22 June 2025,) reuniting paintings from museums, churches and private collections around the world by some of the greatest Italian artists of the 14th century and currently on view at the Met in New York. 

Find out how to purchase membership to the National Gallery here and the exhibition here.