26 permanent artworks on the London Underground feature in an updated map recently released by TfL.
The Art Map is a revised edition from one that originally appeared in 2016, and points culturally-inclined passengers in the direction of 26 permanent artworks scattered across the London Underground. These range from Henry Moore's first public commission (his West Wind relief, which flies across the former Transport for London headquarters at 55 Broadway) to David Gentleman's much-admired Cross for Queen Eleanor, which depicts the construction of Queen Eleanor's Cross, and has greeted Northern line passengers at Charing Cross since 1980.
New entries on the map include Alexandre da Cunha's Sunset, Sunrise, Sunset (which arrived at the new Battersea Power Station station in 2021), Chantal Joffe's A Sunday Afternoon in Whitechapel (which neatly covers some disturbing ghost shadows) and Lucy McKenzie's Pleasure's Inaccuracies, featuring charming illustrated maps painted onto the waiting room ceilings at Sudbury Town.
The Art Map can be picked up for free at all Zone 1 London Underground stations, and in stations with Art on the Underground commissions beyond, including Brixton, Seven Sisters and Sudbury Town.
Additionally, this Sunday (8 March), you can catch these free talks which coincide with the map's release:
🎤 Amelia and David Gentleman discussing David's 1978 series of panels on the Northern line, Cross for Queen Eleanor, portraying the construction of Queen Eleanor's Cross. Charing Cross station, 11.30am, and 12.30pm
🎤 Larry Achiampong discussing his PAN AFRICAN FLAG FOR THE RELIC TRAVELLERS' ALLIANCE (UNION), which replaces the traditional red and blue roundel design with Pan-African colours. Westminster station, 12.15pm and 1.15pm
🎤 Programme Director of Art on the Underground, Eleanor Pinfield introducing Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings' mosaic artwork Angels of History. St James's Park station, 1pm and 2pm
Of course, these 26 artworks are the tip of the iceberg: in truth, the London Underground is a gallery everywhere you turn, from the picture tiles along the Victoria line to the garrulous Jack Daniels' posters with an origin dating back to the early 1950s. Still, the Art Map is a pretty solid way to start your explorations.
