From Kenwood's Old Masters to contemporary gallery spaces on Flask Walk, Hampstead has always been a serious destination for art. Here's where to look.
The collection includes Rembrandt's late self-portrait (one of the great paintings in any British collection), a Vermeer, several Gainsborough portraits and major works by Reynolds. Entry is free; the house is managed by English Heritage.
Fenton House (National Trust)
Fenton House on Windmill Hill contains the Benton Fletcher Collection of historical keyboard instruments, harpsichords, spinets and virginals dating from the 16th century onwards, alongside a collection of ceramics and paintings. Concerts are held regularly in the music room.
Burgh House
The community arts centre at Burgh House in New End Square hosts changing exhibitions by local and regional artists. The quality varies but the building itself, a Queen Anne house with a beautiful walled garden, is always worth visiting. The downstairs café is good.
Flask Walk Galleries
Flask Walk supports several small commercial galleries in its lower section, specialising in original prints, watercolours and works on paper at accessible price points. The pedestrianised section makes browsing easy on a weekend afternoon.
The Hampstead School of Art
The Hampstead School of Art on Lithos Road has been offering classes and open studios since 1971. Their open studio weekends (typically in June and November) give access to working artists' spaces and the chance to buy directly from makers. Worth following on social media for announcements.
Visiting Tips
Kenwood House is open year-round but the grounds can be muddy in winter, come prepared. The village galleries are generally open Tuesday-Saturday and worth calling ahead to confirm hours.
The combination of Kenwood, Fenton House and Burgh House makes for an excellent full-day cultural itinerary, all within walking distance of each other.
Camden Arts Centre
The most important contemporary art venue in the area is the Camden Arts Centre on Arkwright Road, a short walk from Finchley Road station.
Housed in a handsome Victorian former library, it has been showing ambitious contemporary art since 1965 and helped launch the careers of artists who later became internationally significant.
Admission to the exhibitions is free; there are artists' residencies, a respected programme of talks and courses, a well-stocked art bookshop, and one of the best café-gardens in the neighbourhood.
It is an essential stop on any Hampstead art itinerary and a useful corrective to the assumption that the village's art scene is purely historical.
The Commercial Galleries
Hampstead supports a cluster of established commercial galleries, most concentrated around Heath Street and Flask Walk.
The Catto Gallery on Heath Street is the largest, showing contemporary painting across two floors and representing a stable of mid-career British and international artists. Zebra One Gallery off Perrin's Court deals in modern and contemporary prints, including blue-chip names, while several smaller spaces rotate shows of original prints, ceramics and works on paper at more accessible prices.
Most are open Tuesday to Saturday, and gallery-hopping is an easy and pleasant way to spend a weekend afternoon.
The Hampstead Avant-Garde of the 1930s
For a few extraordinary years in the 1930s, Hampstead was the centre of British modern art, and arguably one of the most important avant-garde communities in Europe.
Around the Mall Studios on Parkhill Road and the surrounding streets lived Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore and the critic Herbert Read, joined by a remarkable influx of refugees fleeing fascism on the continent: the Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius, the painter Piet Mondrian, the architect Erno Goldfinger and the constructivist Naum Gabo.
Read famously described the area as "a nest of gentle artists." Mondrian's studio on Parkhill Road, where he worked from 1938 to 1940, is marked with a blue plaque.
The community scattered with the outbreak of war, but its brief flowering left Hampstead with a serious claim to a place in the history of twentieth-century art.
Artists Who Painted the Heath
Hampstead's landscape has drawn painters for two centuries. John Constable lived at 40 Well Walk and painted the Heath repeatedly in the 1820s, producing cloud studies that changed the course of British landscape painting, several now hang in major collections, and the spot at Judges Walk where he set up his easel still offers the same view.
The painter Stanley Spencer studied here, and the topographical record of Hampstead in art is rich enough to form a walking tour in its own right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there free art to see in Hampstead?
Yes, the two best collections are both free: the Iveagh Bequest at Kenwood House (Rembrandt, Vermeer, Gainsborough) and the contemporary exhibitions at Camden Arts Centre. Burgh House and most commercial galleries are also free to browse.
What is the best gallery in Hampstead?
For Old Masters, Kenwood House is unmatched. For contemporary art, Camden Arts Centre is the most serious venue. For buying original work, the Catto Gallery is the largest commercial space.
Did famous artists live in Hampstead?
Many, John Constable painted the Heath from Well Walk, and in the 1930s Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson and the émigré Piet Mondrian made Hampstead a centre of the European avant-garde.
Camden Arts Centre
The most important contemporary art venue in the area is the Camden Arts Centre on Arkwright Road, a short walk from Finchley Road station.
Housed in a handsome Victorian former library, it has been showing ambitious contemporary art since 1965 and helped launch the careers of artists who later became internationally significant.
Admission to the exhibitions is free; there are artists' residencies, a respected programme of talks and courses, a well-stocked art bookshop, and one of the best café-gardens in the neighbourhood.
It is an essential stop on any Hampstead art itinerary and a useful corrective to the assumption that the village's art scene is purely historical.
The Commercial Galleries
Hampstead supports a cluster of established commercial galleries, most concentrated around Heath Street and Flask Walk. The Catto Gallery on Heath Street is the largest, showing contemporary painting across two floors and representing a stable of mid-career British and international artists. Zebra One Gallery off Perrin's Court deals in modern and contemporary prints, including blue-chip names, while several smaller spaces rotate shows of original prints, ceramics and works on paper at more accessible prices. Most are open Tuesday to Saturday, and gallery-hopping is an easy and pleasant way to spend a weekend afternoon.
The Hampstead Avant-Garde of the 1930s
For a few extraordinary years in the 1930s, Hampstead was the centre of British modern art, and arguably one of the most important avant-garde communities in Europe. Around the Mall Studios on Parkhill Road and the surrounding streets lived Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore and the critic Herbert Read, joined by a remarkable influx of refugees fleeing fascism on the continent: the Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius, the painter Piet Mondrian, the architect Erno Goldfinger and the constructivist Naum Gabo.
Read famously described the area as "a nest of gentle artists." Mondrian's studio on Parkhill Road, where he worked from 1938 to 1940, is marked with a blue plaque.
The community scattered with the outbreak of war, but its brief flowering left Hampstead with a serious claim to a place in the history of twentieth-century art.
Artists Who Painted the Heath
Hampstead's landscape has drawn painters for two centuries. John Constable lived at 40 Well Walk and painted the Heath repeatedly in the 1820s, producing cloud studies that changed the course of British landscape painting, several now hang in major collections, and the spot at Judges Walk where he set up his easel still offers the same view.
The painter Stanley Spencer studied here, and the topographical record of Hampstead in art is rich enough to form a walking tour in its own right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there free art to see in Hampstead?
Yes, the two best collections are both free: the Iveagh Bequest at Kenwood House (Rembrandt, Vermeer, Gainsborough) and the contemporary exhibitions at Camden Arts Centre. Burgh House and most commercial galleries are also free to browse.
What is the best gallery in Hampstead?
For Old Masters, Kenwood House is unmatched. For contemporary art, Camden Arts Centre is the most serious venue. For buying original work, the Catto Gallery is the largest commercial space.
Did famous artists live in Hampstead?
Many, John Constable painted the Heath from Well Walk, and in the 1930s Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson and the émigré Piet Mondrian made Hampstead a centre of the European avant-garde.
Camden Arts Centre
The most important contemporary art venue in the area is the Camden Arts Centre on Arkwright Road, a short walk from Finchley Road station.
Housed in a handsome Victorian former library, it has been showing ambitious contemporary art since 1965 and helped launch the careers of artists who later became internationally significant.
Admission to the exhibitions is free; there are artists' residencies, a respected programme of talks and courses, a well-stocked art bookshop, and one of the best café-gardens in the neighbourhood.
It is an essential stop on any Hampstead art itinerary and a useful corrective to the assumption that the village's art scene is purely historical.
The Commercial Galleries
Hampstead supports a cluster of established commercial galleries, most concentrated around Heath Street and Flask Walk. The Catto Gallery on Heath Street is the largest, showing contemporary painting across two floors and representing a stable of mid-career British and international artists. Zebra One Gallery off Perrin's Court deals in modern and contemporary prints, including blue-chip names, while several smaller spaces rotate shows of original prints, ceramics and works on paper at more accessible prices. Most are open Tuesday to Saturday, and gallery-hopping is an easy and pleasant way to spend a weekend afternoon.
The Hampstead Avant-Garde of the 1930s
For a few extraordinary years in the 1930s, Hampstead was the centre of British modern art, and arguably one of the most important avant-garde communities in Europe. Around the Mall Studios on Parkhill Road and the surrounding streets lived Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore and the critic Herbert Read, joined by a remarkable influx of refugees fleeing fascism on the continent: the Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius, the painter Piet Mondrian, the architect Erno Goldfinger and the constructivist Naum Gabo.
Read famously described the area as "a nest of gentle artists." Mondrian's studio on Parkhill Road, where he worked from 1938 to 1940, is marked with a blue plaque.
The community scattered with the outbreak of war, but its brief flowering left Hampstead with a serious claim to a place in the history of twentieth-century art.
Artists Who Painted the Heath
Hampstead's landscape has drawn painters for two centuries. John Constable lived at 40 Well Walk and painted the Heath repeatedly in the 1820s, producing cloud studies that changed the course of British landscape painting, several now hang in major collections, and the spot at Judges Walk where he set up his easel still offers the same view.
The painter Stanley Spencer studied here, and the topographical record of Hampstead in art is rich enough to form a walking tour in its own right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there free art to see in Hampstead?
Yes, the two best collections are both free: the Iveagh Bequest at Kenwood House (Rembrandt, Vermeer, Gainsborough) and the contemporary exhibitions at Camden Arts Centre. Burgh House and most commercial galleries are also free to browse.
What is the best gallery in Hampstead?
For Old Masters, Kenwood House is unmatched. For contemporary art, Camden Arts Centre is the most serious venue. For buying original work, the Catto Gallery is the largest commercial space.
Did famous artists live in Hampstead?
Many, John Constable painted the Heath from Well Walk, and in the 1930s Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson and the émigré Piet Mondrian made Hampstead a centre of the European avant-garde.
Camden Arts Centre
The most important contemporary art venue in the area is the Camden Arts Centre on Arkwright Road, a short walk from Finchley Road station. Housed in a handsome Victorian former library, it has been showing ambitious contemporary art since 1965 and helped launch the careers of artists who later became internationally significant.
Admission to the exhibitions is free; there are artists' residencies, a respected programme of talks and courses, a well-stocked art bookshop, and one of the best café-gardens in the neighbourhood.
It is an essential stop on any Hampstead art itinerary and a useful corrective to the assumption that the village's art scene is purely historical.
The Commercial Galleries
Hampstead supports a cluster of established commercial galleries, most concentrated around Heath Street and Flask Walk. The Catto Gallery on Heath Street is the largest, showing contemporary painting across two floors and representing a stable of mid-career British and international artists. Zebra One Gallery off Perrin's Court deals in modern and contemporary prints, including blue-chip names, while several smaller spaces rotate shows of original prints, ceramics and works on paper at more accessible prices. Most are open Tuesday to Saturday, and gallery-hopping is an easy and pleasant way to spend a weekend afternoon.
The Hampstead Avant-Garde of the 1930s
For a few extraordinary years in the 1930s, Hampstead was the centre of British modern art, and arguably one of the most important avant-garde communities in Europe. Around the Mall Studios on Parkhill Road and the surrounding streets lived Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore and the critic Herbert Read, joined by a remarkable influx of refugees fleeing fascism on the continent: the Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius, the painter Piet Mondrian, the architect Erno Goldfinger and the constructivist Naum Gabo.
Read famously described the area as "a nest of gentle artists." Mondrian's studio on Parkhill Road, where he worked from 1938 to 1940, is marked with a blue plaque.
The community scattered with the outbreak of war, but its brief flowering left Hampstead with a serious claim to a place in the history of twentieth-century art.
Artists Who Painted the Heath
Hampstead's landscape has drawn painters for two centuries. John Constable lived at 40 Well Walk and painted the Heath repeatedly in the 1820s, producing cloud studies that changed the course of British landscape painting, several now hang in major collections, and the spot at Judges Walk where he set up his easel still offers the same view.
The painter Stanley Spencer studied here, and the topographical record of Hampstead in art is rich enough to form a walking tour in its own right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there free art to see in Hampstead?
Yes, the two best collections are both free: the Iveagh Bequest at Kenwood House (Rembrandt, Vermeer, Gainsborough) and the contemporary exhibitions at Camden Arts Centre. Burgh House and most commercial galleries are also free to browse.
What is the best gallery in Hampstead?
For Old Masters, Kenwood House is unmatched. For contemporary art, Camden Arts Centre is the most serious venue. For buying original work, the Catto Gallery is the largest commercial space.
Did famous artists live in Hampstead?
Many, John Constable painted the Heath from Well Walk, and in the 1930s Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson and the émigré Piet Mondrian made Hampstead a centre of the European avant-garde.
