Lucian Freud Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery will open until midnight from 24-26 May, in the lead up to the last day of the most popular paid-for exhibition in the gallery’s history, it was announced today (30 April). Gallery figures released today reveal that since it opened on 9 February 2012, Lucian Freud Portraits has attracted over 175, 000 visitors so far, overtaking its previous record-breaking paying exhibitions Mario Testino Portraits (2002), David Hockney Portraits (2006) and Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life (2008).

The extra tickets for the midnight openings on Thursday 24, Friday 25 and Saturday 26 May will go on sale today only (via Ticketmaster) at www.npg.org.uk/freud or by phone (0844 248 5033). The Gallery’s Portrait Restaurant will be taking bookings for dinner until 9.30pm and the exhibition shop will also be open.

As well as the newly-released allocation, tickets are still available for a number of timed entry slots (also on the Gallery’s website or by phone) throughout May. Prior to the midnight opening, the exhibition is open until 9pm on Thursdays and Fridays, as part of the Gallery’s Late Shift programme of late night openings with talks and events and bar, sponsored by FTI Consulting, and 9pm on Saturdays. Advance tickets for admission throughout the run are also available in person from the Ticket Desk in the Gallery and at least 500 are available every day for on-the-day admission to walk-in visitors.

To avoid queuing, for just £45 visitors can become a Gallery Member which gives them free, immediate access to the exhibition and other benefits including free admission to all Gallery exhibitions for one year. (Visitors can also become Members online, with their confirmation email entitling them to free entry to Lucian Freud Portraits when presented at the Membership Desk).

The Gallery recommends that visitors arrive early to avoid disappointment and strongly advises against buying tickets from unauthorised ticket sellers. Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, says: ‘The National Portrait Gallery is delighted that Lucian Freud Portraits is proving so popular. Visitors are coming to the Gallery to experience the sheer brilliance found across seven decades of portraits by one of Britain’s greatest artists.’

A new portrait of Shami Chakrabarti, Director of campaign group Liberty, has gone on display at the National Portrait Gallery. The photographic portrait is a commission and the first work by British artist Gillian Wearing to enter the Gallery’s Collection. The black and white portrait was taken with a large-format camera and shows Chakrabarti holding a wax mask of herself hanging from a ribbon.

The notion of the ‘mask’ has previously occupied Wearing, but for this commission the idea was initially prompted by Chakrabarti who commented to Wearing that her public persona is mask-like, often interpreted as ‘grim’, ‘worthy’ and ‘strident’. Chakrabarti first sat for the portrait in September 2010, when she was digitally scanned for the wax mask – preferable to a plaster life-cast as it does not distort features.

The mask was carefully sculpted and coloured, and includes glass eyes. Chakrabarti then returned to Gillian’s studio in April 2011 to be photographed with the mask. The medium, clarity and composition of this image is reminiscent of the studio portraits of photographer August Sander (1876-1964), whose work has always interested Wearing. Thematically, it makes links to works in the Gallery’s historic Collection that employ masks, including portraits of the actors’ Sarah Siddons by Sir William Beechey and David Garrick by Johann Zoffany.

Wearing’s work is an example of a mask portrait which explores a contemporary sitter’s shifting sense of self. It is particularly potent in the portrayal of Chakrabarti, a public figure whose work often raises issues relating to privacy and identity. Born in London, of Indian heritage, Chakrabarti trained as a barrister and was called to the bar in 1994. She worked as a lawyer at the Home Office for Conservative and Labour governments (1996-2001) before joining Liberty as in-house counsel in 2001 and became Director in 2003.

Chakrabarti has written, spoken and broadcast on the importance of the post-World War Two human rights framework as an essential component of democratic society, which includes spearheading specific campaigns on issues such as detention without charge, stop-and-search, and ID cards. She is Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, a Governor of the London School of Economics and a Master of the Bench of Middle Temple.

Turner Prize-winning artist Wearing uses photography and video to explore the disparities between public and private life and between individual and collective experience. Her works include the photographic series, Signs that Say What You Want Them to Say and Not Signs that Say What Someone Else Wants You to Say (1992-3) made shortly after her graduation from Goldsmiths College, Sixty Minutes Silence (1996), Family History (2006), and a series of photographic self-portraits showing the artist in the guise of members of her family and also other artists, by painstakingly recreating existing photographs using masks and sets. Her work is currently the subject of a major exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery until 17 June 2012 www.whitechapel.org.uk.

Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, says: ‘Gillian Wearing is one of the most important artists in modern Britain with an insight that celebrates the extraordinary in the ordinariness of our lives and aspirations. It is wonderful that her work will be represented in the National Portrait Gallery and it was a pleasure and honour to sit for her.’ Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery says, ‘Gillian Wearing’s double image of Shami Chakrabarti is a powerful portrait of a woman who is making an exceptional contribution to civil liberties and human rights.

This newly commissioned portrait is the latest to be supported by J.P. Morgan, and demonstrates their commitment to creativity and the arts.’ Carol Lake, Head of EMEA Philanthropy and Sponsorship says: ‘J.P. Morgan is delighted to support the National Portrait Gallery’s Fund for New Commissions. Great people and great art encourage important discussion and debate. This portrait of Shami Chakrabarti by Gillian Wearing is an excellent addition to the collection with which we are proud to be associated. ‘ The portrait was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery’s Trustees with support from J.P. Morgan through the Fund for New Commissions. Shami Chakrabati is on display from 18 April 2012 until 22 April 2012 in the National Portrait Gallery’s Contemporary Galleries (Room 40).

The portrait will then go on display again from Wednesday 27th June.Opening: Thursday, Fridays:10am - 9pm (Gallery closure commences at 8.50pm) Recorded information: 020 7312 2463 General information: 020 7306 0055 Website: www.npg.org.uk

Accademia Apulia’s special friend and celebrated artist Miriam Escofet has had her latest painting selected for one of the most important annual appointments in the art calendar - the BP Portrait Award exhibition.

This is a well deserved accolade for Miriam Escofet, who is not only a great artist, but a virtuoso whose pictorial skills make her portraits breath and speak as you marvel at the canvas.

Miriam’s skills are visible through all her paintings, past and present, which is why the artist was invited to display her latest work, High Sheriff John Godfrey CBE (image 1) at the prestigious BP exhibition to be held at the National Portrait Gallery.

This is yet another very special painting by Miriam Escofet - you can actually feel the softness of velvet simply by looking at the rich robes worn by the High Sheriff (image 2).

Anyone admiring this painting will be mesmerised by the details, the textures, the lace, the sheen of the silks (image 3). In essence, gazing at Miriam Escofet’s work is like opening the door to another world: anyone with an appreciation for fine art will be visually seduced and transported to a very special place.

BP portrait exhibition

National Portrait Gallery

21st June 2012 - 23rd September 2012

www.miriamescofet.com

Museums at Night, the after-hours celebration of arts, history and heritage is back. Hundreds of museums and galleries across the UK will be staying open late and hosting special events over the weekend of Friday 18th to Sunday 20th May 2012.

A highlight of the cultural calendar, Museums at Night 2012 looks set to be a vintage year.

From pyjama parties to pleasure piers, taxidermy to star gazing, there is an event to capture the imagination of even the most reluctant museum goer.

London highlights include: • Stay up late with iconic French shoe designer Christian Louboutin at his first UK retrospective at The Design Museum.

The exhibition celebrates a career which has pushed the boundariesof high fashion shoe design and showcases twenty years of designs and inspiration, revealing the artistry and theatricality of his shoe design from stilettos to lace-up boots, studded sneakers and bejewelled pumps. • Two great London icons, the Ragged School Museum and photographer Terry O'Neill, will come together for a truly special evening of nostalgia.

Not only did the museum once house Dr Barnardo's famed 'ragged school', in the 1960s it played host to Lewis Leathers - creators of the iconic leather jackets worn by the very stars that Terry has immortalised with his images. • "Map Mash Up at London Transport Museum. Dance the night away on a Routemaster bus while a cartographer extraordinaire maps the whole evening. • Explore the Bank of England Museum in twilight and try to lift a real 13kg gold bar! • Dr Matt Lodder, a heavily tattooed art historian discusses how non-Western tattoo traditions influenced tattoo practices and art forms in the West at the Horniman Museum's The Body Adorned exhibition. • Love and Lust is on offer at UCL with the chance to follow clues related to seduction in the animal world, look at the work of amorous artists and find romance in the ancient world. • The National Portrait Gallery are hosting a night of activity inspired by the Lucian Freud exhibition, including music, poetry, film, life drawing sessions, walks, talks and performances. • Special late-night opening of the Astronomy Centre at the Royal Observatory Greenwich with a range of workshops and talks with top astronomers plus planetarium shows at London's only planetarium. There are lots of other events in London. For details of all venues, events and activities visit www.museumsatnight.org.uk, where listings information will be updated right up until the weekend itself. 

  It takes place over the weekend of Friday 18th - Sunday 20th May 2012. www.museumsatnight.org.uk Culture24 is a non-profit cultural publishing organisation supporting arts and heritage venues to reach audiences across digital platforms. We collect and share cultural data, publish websites, run the national Museums at Night campaign and lead action research projects. www.WeAreCulture24.org.uk Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people's lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries - from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us.

In short, it makes life better. Between 2011 and 2015, we will invest £1.4 billion of public money from government and an estimated £0.85 billion from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country.www.artscouncil.org.uk Love Art London is the leading independent arts club in London, providing its members with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the art world. Every month Love Art London creates 4 unique pop-up events at galleries, studios and places of cultural interest, each of which are led by artists, curators, critics and those in the know. www.loveartlondon.com

The Historic Houses Association represents 1500 privately owned historic houses, castles and gardens throughout the UK.

These are listed buildings or designated gardens, usually Grade I or II, and are often outstanding. www.hha.org.uk The Arts Marketing Association is open to all arts professionals involved in bringing the arts and audiences together. The AMA has an active and diverse membership of over 1900 who regularly participate in professional development opportunities to improve their working practices. www.a-m-a.org.uk The National Trust is a charity with a statutory duty to preserve places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland 'of historic interest and natural beauty for the benefit of the nation'. As Europe's largest conservation charity we protect over 350 historic houses, 160 gardens, 1,100 kilometres of coastline, 254,000 hectares of land of outstanding natural beauty, six World Heritage Sites, 28 castles and 60 pubs - and give access to them for people to enjoy.

The Trust has around 4m members and 61,000 volunteers. Find out more at: www.nationaltrust.org.uk English Heritage is the Government's advisor for the historic environment. We provide advice on how best to conserve England's heritage for the benefit of everyone. Most of England's heritage is in private hands.

We work with landowners, commerce and industry, planners and developers, national, regional and local government, the Third Sector and local communities to help them conserve the historic environment. We promote public knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of our heritage. We are also entrusted with the custodianship of some of the most important monuments of human history - such as Stonehenge and Hadrian's Wall.

For further information about our work, please visit www.english-heritage.org.uk ICOM UK the UK Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM UK) is an organisation created in 1946 by and for museum professionals. ICOM is a unique network of almost 30,000 members who represent the global museum community.www.icom.museum