Jan van Eyck: The Portraits at The National Gallery: Dates, Masterpieces and Luxury Stays

Jan van Eyck: The Portraits opens at The National Gallery on 21 November 2026 and runs until 11 April 2027 in Trafalgar Square, London. This gathering brings together all nine surviving painted portraits by the Northern Renaissance master for the first time, shown alongside his only known preparatory drawing. If you plan to visit during the initial weeks, reserve timed-entry tickets through the gallery box office well in advance, or arrange a private out-of-hours tour before the doors open to the public.

Checked 20 October 2026. Exhibition details, ticketing policies and gallery schedules change; verify the latest times and book entry through the National Gallery.

What this guide covers

• Exhibition dates and why this gathering is historic
• Key masterpieces on display
• Tickets, entry rules and private tours
• Visiting strategy and Friday Lates
• Dining at the gallery and in St James's
• Where to stay in London for the exhibition
• Getting to Trafalgar Square
• Questions we are asked most
• Planning your London art visit

Exhibition dates and why this gathering is historic

Jan van Eyck: The Portraits runs from 21 November 2026 to 11 April 2027 in the Ground Floor Galleries of The National Gallery. The exhibition unites all nine of the artist's surviving painted portraits, accounting for roughly half of his twenty surviving autograph paintings in existence.

Active between 1422 and 1441, Jan van Eyck served as court painter to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. While earlier medieval painters turned out standardised likenesses to establish royal lineage, van Eyck changed European portraiture entirely by recording individual human features with meticulous optical truth. His small panels show five o'clock shadow, bloodshot eyes, crow's feet and the play of daylight across flesh.

Curated by Emma Capron, Curator of Early Netherlandish and German Paintings at The National Gallery, and Nicholas Flory, the exhibition brings together exceptional loans from across Europe. Works have come from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Berlin's Gemäldegalerie, the Groeningemuseum in Bruges and the Kupferstich-Kabinett in Dresden.

Sir Gabriele Finaldi, Director of The National Gallery, has made it clear that this gathering will not happen again. Given the extreme fragility and rarity of fifteenth-century oak panels, loans on this scale are singular occurrences. The exhibition also marks the arrival of the first English-language monograph devoted entirely to van Eyck's portraiture.

Key masterpieces on display

The rooms centre on side-by-side pairings of panels that have sat in separate collections for centuries. Several portraits stand free in the gallery, so you can inspect the painted imitation stone and jasper on their reverses.

The National Gallery's own Arnolfini Portrait (1434), formally titled Portrait of Giovanni(?) Arnolfini and his Wife, hangs beside the Portrait of a Man (Giovanni Arnolfini?) (c. 1435–38) from the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. Setting aside kings and princes, having the same private citizen sit twice for a leading painter was almost unheard of in the 1430s. The National Gallery's freshly conserved Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?) (1433), famous for its crimson chaperone headdress, hangs beside Margaret, the Artist's Wife (1439), on loan from the Groeningemuseum in Bruges. Margaret's portrait is the earliest dated, identifiable painting of a non-aristocratic woman in European art.

Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum has permitted both of its van Eyck panels to travel together for the first time: Jan de Leeuw (1436), showing a Bruges goldsmith meeting the viewer's eye, and the Portrait of an Elderly Man (A Scholar?) (c. 1438). The scholar panel meets van Eyck's sole surviving drawing, the silverpoint Portrait of an Elderly Man (c. 1438) from Dresden, for only the second time in history.

Masterpiece Panel	Date	Lending Institution
The Arnolfini Portrait	1434	The National Gallery, London
Portrait of a Man (Giovanni Arnolfini?)	c. 1435–1438	Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?)	1433	The National Gallery, London
Margaret, the Artist's Wife	1439	Groeningemuseum, Bruges
Portrait of an Elderly Man (A Scholar?)	c. 1438	Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Portrait of an Elderly Man (Drawing)	c. 1438	Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden
Jan de Leeuw	1436	Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Van Eyck conceived these portraits as tactile luxury objects, made to be held and turned in the hand. He worked the reverse of the boards in trompe l'oeil marble and jasper, adding painted lettering and his motto, Als ich kan ("As well as I can"). In free-standing display cases, you can study these reverse faces for the first time in public.

Tickets, entry rules and private tours

Standard entry to Van Eyck: The Portraits costs £18 for adults, which includes the exhibition audio guide, while visitors under eighteen enter free. Timed-entry slots are compulsory for all ticket holders.

We do not sell general admission tickets. If you want standard admission, book directly through the National Gallery box office. Members of The National Gallery enter without booking, though the Member Preview Day on Friday 20 November 2026 is already full.

Entry is via the Sainsbury Wing on Trafalgar Square, where walk-through metal detectors and bag checks are in place. The cloakroom costs £3 an item and is free for gallery members. Bags exceeding 56 × 25 × 45 cm are refused entry. Suitcases, wheeled cabin bags and large rucksacks cannot be brought inside and cannot be held on site. Photography inside the exhibition rooms is strictly forbidden.

For collectors and small groups wanting space to look properly, The National Gallery runs private out-of-hours tours. These take place daily before opening, from 9:00 am to 10:00 am, or after hours from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Led by a Gallery-approved Blue Badge guide, these visits accommodate up to twenty-five guests from £1,500, with options for breakfast or evening champagne and canapés. Private tours during public hours start from £400 for up to eleven guests. If you wish to arrange an out-of-hours private view with an art historian, you can ask our AI concierge to coordinate the booking with your accommodation, with all details set down in writing before you commit.

Visiting strategy and Friday Lates

The National Gallery opens daily from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, with last entry at 5:45 pm, and stays open until 9:00 pm on Fridays. A Friday evening visit during the lates provides the quietest public viewing.

Van Eyck's panels are compact. Margaret, the Artist's Wife measures a modest 32.6 by 25.8 centimetres. Because visitors must stand close to read inscriptions and see brushwork, the galleries crowd quickly on weekends. Booking the 10:00 am slot on a weekday morning or stepping in after 6:00 pm on a Friday gives you room to study the vitrines before dinner.

If you want to spend the day with painting, pair this show with Renoir and Love at The National Gallery, which runs concurrently until 31 January 2027.

Dining at the gallery and in St James's

Inside the gallery, Ochre is an all-day British brasserie on Level 0, accessible directly from Charing Cross Road. It serves seasonal dishes, afternoon tea and pre-theatre menus from £24.50, staying open until 9:00 pm on Fridays.

St James's and Mayfair sit just across the road, with several dependable rooms:

• The Ritz Restaurant (Piccadilly): One Michelin star, set beneath painted ceilings and gilded chandeliers, serving classical French menus ten minutes' walk from Trafalgar Square.
• Gymkhana (Albemarle Street, Mayfair): Two Michelin stars, with clubby banquettes and confident, spice-led Indian cooking. You can read more in our guide to exclusive fine dining tasting menus in Mayfair.
• Bancone (William IV Street, Covent Garden): Two minutes east of the gallery entrance, best known for its hand-rolled silk handkerchief pasta with walnut butter and confit egg yolk.
• J. Sheekey (St Martin's Court): A West End fixture since 1896, reliable for oysters, grilled Dover sole and lobster.

For tea before your slot, take a look at our selection of the best luxury afternoon tea in London. To reserve a table near the gallery after your visit, or to book a car for the evening, consult our online concierge.

Where to stay in London for the exhibition

Deciding where to base yourself comes down to whether you prefer to walk to Trafalgar Square or retreat to a quiet residential terrace. We provide a hand-picked portfolio of private apartments across London, bookable through our online concierge.

An address in Mayfair or St James's keeps you within fifteen minutes on foot of the Sainsbury Wing, near the commercial galleries on Cork Street and auction previews at Christie's on King Street. For a quieter neighbourhood of mews streets and good bakeries, Marylebone connects to Charing Cross by Bakerloo line in ten minutes. We weigh up the central districts in our guide to where to stay in Mayfair, Knightsbridge or Marylebone.

Further west, Knightsbridge and Chelsea put you close to Hyde Park. If you are spending time in South Kensington's museums, we can arrange a partner apartment from our network upon request; our own residence there remains in development.

If your trip balances gallery visits with business in the financial district, Canary Wharf provides quiet riverside apartments with rapid transport connections. Luxury Experience AI manages three properties there:

• The John Cabot: One-bedroom apartment sleeping up to 4 guests, from £427 a night.
• The William Jessop: Two-bedroom apartment sleeping up to 7 guests, from £580 a night.
• The Mellish Residence: One-bedroom apartment sleeping up to 5 guests, from £275 a night.

From Canary Wharf Station, the Elizabeth line takes twelve minutes to reach Tottenham Court Road. From there, it is an easy eight-minute walk down Charing Cross Road to Trafalgar Square.

Getting to Trafalgar Square

The National Gallery stands on the north terrace of Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN. Public transport is managed by Transport for London.

Charing Cross Station (Bakerloo and Northern lines, with Southeastern mainline rail) is two minutes on foot from the Sainsbury Wing. Leicester Square Station (Northern and Piccadilly lines) lies four minutes north on St Martin's Lane, and Piccadilly Circus Station (Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines) is seven minutes away via Coventry Street. Embankment Station (Circle, District, Bakerloo and Northern lines) takes eight minutes via the Strand.

The terrace directly in front of the gallery is pedestrianised, so cars cannot pull up outside the doors. The most convenient drop-off point for a chauffeur is Orange Street or St Martin's Place, behind the Sainsbury Wing and National Portrait Gallery. Arriving this way skips the traffic on the Strand and leads directly to the step-free entrance of the Sainsbury Wing.

Questions we are asked most

When does Van Eyck: The Portraits open at The National Gallery?
The exhibition opens on Saturday 21 November 2026 and closes on Sunday 11 April 2027. The gallery opens daily from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, staying open until 9:00 pm on Fridays. Advance timed-entry booking is required for exhibition entry.

Can I buy standard tickets through Luxury Experience AI?
No, Luxury Experience AI does not sell general admission tickets. Standard entry tickets cost £18 and must be booked directly through the National Gallery box office. We arrange luxury apartment stays, out-of-hours private tours, chauffeur transfers and dining reservations around your trip.

What is the bag policy at The National Gallery?
All visitors pass through security checks at the Sainsbury Wing entrance. The gallery cloakroom accepts items up to 56 × 25 × 45 cm for £3 per piece. Wheeled suitcases, cabin bags and large luggage are strictly prohibited and cannot be stored at the venue.

Which Van Eyck paintings are being shown together for the first time?
The exhibition unites all nine surviving painted portraits by Jan van Eyck. Key pairings include London's The Arnolfini Portrait (1434) alongside Berlin's Portrait of a Man (Giovanni Arnolfini?) (c. 1435–38), as well as Vienna's two van Eyck panels exhibited beside the rare Dresden preparatory drawing.

Can I arrange an out-of-hours private view of the exhibition?
Yes, The National Gallery offers private out-of-hours tours before opening from 9:00 am to 10:00 am and after closing from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm for groups up to twenty-five guests, starting from £1,500. These private visits must be booked through the gallery events office and can be paired with private breakfast or evening hospitality.

Planning your London art visit

Visiting a major London exhibition rewards early preparation, particularly when securing morning time slots and tables at nearby dining rooms.

Look through our luxury apartments to pick your location, see our riverside residences in Canary Wharf, or tell our AI concierge your dates to begin planning. Stays, private guides and car transfers are confirmed in writing before you complete your booking.