Birmingham’s Barber Institute and London’s National Gallery swap masterpieces to celebrate anniversary

An outstanding group of Old Master and 19th-century paintings - including masterpieces by Poussin, Turner, Monet and Manet - go on show at the National Gallery, London this summer as part of the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the foundation of Birmingham's Barber Institute of Fine Arts. Birth of a Collection: Masterpieces from the Barber Institute of Fine Arts runs from 22 May to 1 September 2013. At the same time, outstanding portraits by Lucas van Leyden, Rembrandt, Goya and Cézanne, on loan from the National Gallery, are paired with comparable works at the Barber Institute, University of Birmingham. About Face: European Portrait Masterpieces from UK National Collections runs at the Barber Institute from 17 May - 1 September 2013. Birth of a Collection features the outstanding first 12 paintings acquired by Professor Thomas Bodkin, the Barber Institute's first director, for the Henry Barber Trust after his appointment in 1935. While the Barber Institute's galleries were under construction and unready to receive works of art (1936-39), nine of this group of paintings were lent to, and displayed or stored at, the National Gallery, thanks to the support and friendship of the Gallery's brilliant young director, Kenneth Clark. For the first time in more than 70 years, this exhibition reunites this group of exceptional paintings in Trafalgar Square, together with the two further works that were shown at the Tate Gallery and one that remained with the dealer until coming to the Barber.