The National Gallery: Art for Everyone, Everywhere

The National Gallery has been making art accessible to everyone for 200 years in 2024. Founded in 1824, when Parliament agreed to purchase 38 paintings from the financier John Julius Angerstein, the Gallery’s initial collection was displayed in Angerstein’s house, until a dedicated building was commissioned and opened at Trafalgar Square in 1838. As of 2024, the National Gallery is home to more than 2,300 paintings produced by a variety of artists that are available for the public to view. This UK £2 coin features a reverse design that shows the iconic building of the National Gallery and includes the edge inscription ‘MAIORVM GLORIA POSTERIS LVMEN EST’, which means ‘The Glory of our ancestors is a light to our descendants’.