The Toast the City Awards are mere days away – we ask if Whitechapel Gallery has what it takes to bring home a coveted Slice of Toast.
The Whitechapel Gallery is one of the undisputed cultural heavyweights of the Square Mile. Having opened in 1901, with a stunning building designed by the architect Charles Harrison Townsend, it was among London’s first publicly funded galleries. Its mission statement was to democratise the often class-locked art world, bringing “the finest art of the world” to the people of the East End.
It was popular from the get-go, with its debut exhibition, Modern Pictures by Living Artists, Pre-Raphaelites and Old Masters, drawing some 260,000 visitors, although legend has it this was in part down to the novelty of seeing electric lighting as much as the appeal of those Old Masters.
This year marked the Whitechapel Gallery’s 125th year, making it a particularly apt time to look back at its triumphs. There is perhaps no 20th century painting more iconic than Picasso’s Guernica, which has been exhibited in the UK just once… at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1939. Other important artists to have been proudly displayed here include Jackson Pollock, with a 1958 exhibition representing his first major British show, Mark Rothko, who also had his first British show here in 1961, and Frida Kahlo, who was displayed here in 1982, years before she became a household name.
The Whitechapel Gallery in the 1970s onwards
The ascendancy continued in the 1970s and 80s, with artistic director Nicholas Serota (who would go on to be artistic director of the Tate) maintaining its reputation as a leading cultural hotspot. In 2007 the gallery embarked upon a two year redevelopment that greatly increased its display space and helped develop its offering as a community hub, creating an archive and reading room.
Its 125th year has seen exhibitions including Joy Gregory: Catching Flies with Honey, which ran from October 2025 into early 2026; Veronica Ryan: Multiple Conversations (1 April-14 June); Backyard Biennial: East (15 July-6 September); and Cecilia Vicuña: Living Threads (7 October-14 February 2027).
While it has some fearsome competition in the form of the Barbican, Guildhall, the Bank of England Museum and more, Whitechapel Gallery is a clear contender for one of our coveted Slices of Toast at the 2026 Toast the City Awards.