The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2025–27
Our new Universal Ticket allows access to our entire gallery. This ticket operates on a ‘Pay If and What You Can’ basis. Upon arrival, please go to gallery reception where our universal ticket is available. No pre-booking necessary. If you would like to make a Group Booking or have additional access needs, please contact us on scva@uea.ac.uk or 01603 593199
The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2025–27
The Sainsbury Centre has been selected as a partner for The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2025–27, alongside South Shields Museum and Art Gallery; Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool and Ferens Art Gallery, Hull. The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour has been running for over a decade, and this marks the first edition of the tour which will work with four partners.
The work selected for the first year is Monet’s The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil (1872), a work which has left the Gallery only once in the last 20 years. Monet depicts a tranquil scene of a winter day on the outskirts of the small suburban town of Argenteuil, not far from Paris. Although the town was already partly industrialised and a popular location for sailing and leisure boating, Monet only hints at this developing bustle with a few scattered buildings behind a screen of trees. Instead, he focuses on an intimate moment by the river. The orderly composition, variety of brushstrokes and reflection in the water are all regular features of Monet’s work.
The Sainsbury Centre is the first museum in the world to recognise formally the living lifeforce of art, fostering the power of art to explore cultural dialogue and exchange. Our radical new exhibition programme investigates the biggest questions people have in their lives today, such as ‘What is Truth?’ and ‘Why Do We Take Drugs?’. This display will tie into the 2025 season which explores the question ‘Can We Stop Killing Each Other?’. The painting will be located within a reflective space for contemplation as part of the exhibition experience. As part of our community programming, we will use this space of sanctuary to further develop and research trauma-informed cafes as a part of our Compassionate Museum programme. These will be co-created with a range of partners working in the field of mental health and support for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
Specialist insurer, Hiscox, is proud to support The National Gallery 2025–27 Masterpiece Tour.
This exhibition is part of our upcoming 2025 season Can We Stop Killing Each Other?
Claude Monet (1840- 1926), The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil, 1872, Oil on canvas © The National Gallery, London
“This Masterpiece Partnership will help bring our approach to art to a wider national audience, as visitors come to experience the Monet painting (and) our Living Art approach that uses innovative experiential and technological pathways to help bring art to life.”
Jago Cooper, Director of the Sainsbury Centre