With the summer school holidays just around the corner, Avanti West Coast and the National Gallery have an adventure at the ready for the whole family with the ‘National Treasures by Rail’ campaign.
As part of their Bicentenary celebrations, 12 works of art from the National Gallery have been temporarily relocated to art galleries around the UK, with three on the Avanti network.
On offer across the network families can stop off at Ikon Gallery in Birmingham to see Artemisia Gentileschi’s ‘Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria’; The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool to view ‘The Rokeby Venus’; and Vermeer’s ‘A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal’ which is on display at the National in Edinburgh.
Sarah Copley, Commercial Director at Avanti West Coast, said: “We are proud to play a part in supporting the National Gallery with this fantastic campaign which will bring these masterpieces to cities around the UK.
“With the school holidays upon us, this is the perfect time to travel by train to be inspired by these paintings, as well as join in with all the creative events which will be run by each gallery.”
The campaign is a key part of the National Gallery’s Bicentenary celebrations where the loaned artworks will be celebrated with individual events at each of the 12 galleries. Some of these activities will be available during the half-term school holidays, giving families an opportunity for a fun day out by train.
Avanti West Coast decided to be an official partner of the campaign to encourage the 35 million people – more than half the UK population that will be within an hour’s journey of a National Gallery masterpiece to travel there by train.
Alexandra Kavanagh, Head of National Touring at the National Gallery, London, said, “The National Treasures project aims to put more people than ever before in easy distance of great paintings from the National Gallery – and what better way to visit the National Treasures than by rail. We are delighted to be partnering with Avanti West Coast to promote the exhibitions in Birmingham, Liverpool and Edinburgh, bringing art to where people are and giving them another reason to visit their local museums.”
There are a range of cost-effective tickets on offer including Advance Single Fares and Superfare ticket for those with greater flexibility, for more information on train times and tickets – customers should visit avantiwestcoast.co.uk
To find out more information about the National Gallery visit: nationalgallery.org.uk