As you’ll probably know by now, we, at the Croydonist, are rather big fans of public art. So we’re particularly excited about what’s coming around the corner, as soon, Croydon will be hosting national paintings in our local spaces.

From early next month you’ll be able to see life-size replicas of paintings from The National Gallery popping up around the borough. From Van Gogh’s wheatfield in The Queen’s Gardens and Rousseau’s tiger in the Whitgift Centre, to Seurat’s bathers in Thornton Heath and Turner’s steam train on Purley’s Rotary Field, there are 30 masterpieces on display across Croydon, as part of The National Gallery’s UK-wide programme, Art On Your Doorstep, in partnership with Culture Croydon. Croydon is the second of 12 towns that will be exhibiting reproductions of iconic national artworks, throughout this year and next.

Left: detail of Bathers at Asnières by Georges Seurat. Right: detail of Portrait of Giovanni(?) Arnolfini and his Wife by Jan van Eyck.

The 30 Croydon paintings were chosen with the help of local community groups and you’ll find that several artworks have been appropriately matched to their surroundings. For example ‘Rain, Steam, and Speed – The Great Western Railway’ by Turner, which will be on display at the Rotary Field in Purley, was selected by Croydon Parks and Green Spaces team to highlight the important railway history of the area (The Surrey Iron Railway – the first public railway – ran through the Rotary Field in the 1800s).

24 of the 30 paintings will be in the town centre, and there’ll be a trail map for us to locate them all on foot. The two central Croydon parks have themed collections of paintings: people’s identities and stories through portraiture in Park Hill Park; and calming landscapes in The Queen’s Gardens. The other six paintings are located around the borough, in Upper Norwood, Thornton Heath, New Addington, Coulsdon and Purley, and whilst not walkable from one to the next, it’s a great excuse to explore some of the other distinct areas across Croydon.

Left: detail of The Umbrellas by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Right: detail of Rain, Steam, and Speed – The Great Western Railway by Joseph Mallord William Turner

In addition to the public art trail, there’s a new exhibition at the Museum of Croydon opening in March, which will complement The National Gallery’s artworks. Called ‘Croydon Art Collection: Matching Masterpieces’ the exhibition will be showcasing over 30 rarely-seen pieces from their collection, including paintings, drawings, and mixed-media creations, from early 19th century classical artworks to modern masterpieces – each selected to link with the themes and compositions displayed in Art On Your Doorstep.

Museum of Croydon collection paintings. Left: detail of The Potter’s Daughter by William Stephen Coleman. Right: Symo (Blue/Green) by Richard Allen.

The National Gallery says of this Croydon partnership: ‘Art on Your Doorstep brings some of the nation’s most beloved paintings right into the heart of Croydon. The trail offers a rare chance to encounter these works beyond the familiar gallery walls and weaves them into everyday life. We are thrilled that this marks the National Gallery’s third collaboration with the borough, following Constable Visits and Art Road Trip, and it’s inspiring to see how strongly the community has shaped this next chapter. Local residents have helped select the artworks featured on the trail and will contribute their own creative responses to form the Croydon Masterpiece – a testament to the borough’s imagination, pride, and artistic energy.’

Keep an eye on the Culture Croydon website and Instagram for further details, as there will also be a programme of accompanying events and workshops in February.

Art On Your Doorstep in Croydon runs from 3 February – 5 July 2026. The Museum of Croydon’s Matching Masterpieces opens on 4 March.

Images courtesy of The National Gallery, Culture Croydon and Museum of Croydon – full image credits below.

Header image painting:

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
A Wheatfield, with Cypresses
1889
Oil on canvas 72.1 × 90.9 cm
Bought, Courtauld Fund, 1923

Images 2a and 2b:

Georges Seurat (1859–1891) Bathers at Asnières
1884
Oil on canvas 201×300cm
Bought, Courtauld Fund, 1924

Jan van Eyck (active 1422; died 1441)
Portrait of Giovanni(?) Arnolfini and his Wife 1434
Oil on wood 82.2 × 60 cm
Bought, 1842

Images 3a and 3b:

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) The Umbrellas
About 1881-6
Oil on canvas 180.3 × 114.9 cm
Sir Hugh Lane Bequest, 1917, The National Gallery, London. In partnership with Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851)
Rain, Steam, and Speed–The Great Western Railway 1844
Oil on canvas 91 × 121.8 cm
Turner Bequest, 1856

Images 4a and 4b:

William Stephen Coleman (1829–1904)
The Potter’s Daughter
Oil on canvas
Museum of Croydon (Copyright Richard Allen Estate) 

Richard Allen (1933–1999)
Symo (Blue/Green)
1967 
Museum of Croydon

Posted by Julia