Wallace Collection one of first museums to announce reopening, with Forgotten Masters exhibition

The Wallace Collection is one of the first museums to announce reopening after the Prime Minister relaxed lockdown guidelines this week.

It will open its doors on July 15, with strict social distancing measures in place, after Boris Johnson announced that museums and galleries would be allowed to get up and running again from July 4.

The museum will operate with reduced hours to avoid people travelling at rush hour, and visitors will need to book timed tickets in advance, take a one-way fixed route around the galleries

Today marks 120 years since the museum first opened its doors, closing only three times since: during both World Wars and from March 18 this year.

Its temporary exhibition, Forgotten Masters: Indian Painting for the East India Company, which had to forgo its final weeks when the museum closed, will reopen on July 29 and now be on display until September. Free entry to this exhibition will be available for NHS workers.

Director of the Wallace Collection Dr Xavier Bray said: “It is particularly fitting that we can make this announcement today – exactly 120 years since we opened our doors for our first time in 1900. These are unprecedented times, and it has never felt more important to bring art and culture to our audiences. We are hugely looking forward to sharing our wonderful objects and spaces with the public again.”

Visit the website for full safety guidelines and to book tickets.