Public Art

Free museums are by far one of the best aspects of London. All the art and history and whatever sitting in the National Gallery, the Tates, the British Museum, the V&A, the Natural History Museum -- and all for free.

The National Gallery decided to take it one step further, and put paintings -- reproductions, anyway -- out on the street. They've hung 45 clever copies -- not just the art work, but mocked up frames, too -- in various side streets of Soho and the West End.

So there you are, innocently meandering along St Martins Lane, and you think, hey, I'm gonna go look in shop windows around Seven Dials. You turn up Shelton, and this catches your eye:

Rather stunning. Such a brilliant idea. Whoever thought of it deserves kudos and a pay-raise and even a pony, should they want one.

The "art" has been stuck on London's walls for a week at least now, but none of the pieces we saw was graffitied. One looked like it'd been rubbed by a van, and others were showing the effects of the weather, but only one was missing, likely stolen by drunken thieves, I would guess. Tho maybe it was tourists, claiming one hell of a souvenir...

Aside from the aforementioned Whistlejacket, I also really wanted to see the street version of Monet's Water Lily Bridge. I found it on the map and wandered up Neal Street. I found one painting, but couldn't find the Monet. I looked at the map again and was clearly in the right place, but the painting was missing. It's a popular one, so maybe it had been stolen. But no -- some dude selling Bansky knockoffs (ironic?) had put up his stall directly in front of the Monet-fake, completely blocking the view. On purpose? Surely.

More street art here. I haven't found all 45, but I'm getting there...