Nathan ’26 and Matthew ’25 describe “an action packed yet mentally and visually intriguing day.”
Day Two in London, started off with a bang with a tour of the Tate Britain. Our tour guide, Mauricio impressed us with his insane knowledge of art, from showing us the change in art chronologically in English culture, and how as time went on, art continued to develop. After our tour at the Tate Britain museum, we toured the National Gallery, which was filled with works from Da Vinci, Van Gogh and other important artists in Art culture and history. In this museum, we got more of a sense of the role of religion in art, and the deeper meanings into the decisions artists take in their work. Outside the Museum, we walked through Chinatown where we met with Class of ‘20 Alum Maddie, who also was on the art trip in 2018 and learned a bit about her art journey and life in London. During that time, we sat and sketched in a local park in Soho Square, and I made, what was to me, a pretty good piece of art from watercolors, and got familiar with all the many tools given for the trip. We ended the day at an incredible Korean restaurant where I ordered pork fried rice, learned how to use chopsticks and the group ended the day with delicious Matcha Ice cream.
-Nathan ’26
Today was an action packed yet extremely mentally and visually intriguing day. After a light breakfast, We set out to the Tate Britain Gallery. As we inevitably broke into conversation on our walk, I began to notice subtle nuances in the landscape of London—a city that it (up to this point) was completely uncharted territory for me. Seeing the double-decker buses and infamous red telephone booths scattered throughout the city was a constant reminder of how lucky I am to find myself in this new environment. Our tour at the Tate Britain was another eye-opening moment. Specifically, learning about the history of the “four genres of painting “ and the ways in which there were complemented contested over time (e.g. through the lens of British artist William Turner) allowed me to notice new details in works from artists I am already familiar with, while also gaining exposure to new works. After our picnic lunch at the Tate, we delved deeper into even more classics at the National Gallery. From Rembrandt to Monet and Van Gogh, we saw an eclectic mix of paintings, surveying nearly the past millennia of the art world. Being able to see the sfumato of a da Vinci and the dreamy landscapes of Claude up close was a truly surreal experience, and seeing these works definitely inspired my tackling of our last activity—drawing and painting from life in SOHO square. All in all, Monday turned out to be a day full of adventure and more keenly noticing subtleties in the world around me.
-Matthew ’25
