Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art

A wonderful and inspiring place to visit! Temporary shows of ever inspiring work, with a permanent collection upstairs. A little cafe with sweet treats to recharge you and you can sit outside or inside when the sun shines. And a neat little bookshop. And lockers, and toilets and friendly staff. A great place!

Tucked away in the backstreets of Canonbury, the Estorick Collection has been an important part of London’s art scene since its opening in 1998. Currently, the ground floor hosts guest exhibitions, while the permanent Collection resides on the upper levels. Renowned internationally, the Collection features a core of Futurist works along with figurative art and sculpture from the late 19th to mid-20th century. Housed in a beautifully restored Grade II-listed Georgian townhouse, the Collection also offers a bookshop and a café serving Italian-style refreshments, with options for alfresco dining. Guest exhibitions are showcased in Galleries One and Two on the ground floor. It's an excellent choice if you prefer small art galleries or you're a fan of Italian art. There are quite a few stairs to climb.

A gorgeous neighbourhood arts gallery! Everything from the design to the selection of books and curatorial design is fantastic. However the morning reception lady, Janet I suppose was rude, if I may say — she almost scowled at me and looked me up with the most stunningly unwelcoming look — I was shocked at the unprompted and explicit jarring reaction — Only when I started to speak of art, my studies and interest related to the topic, she eased out — and offered to even put me in the mailing list stating “It’s not common to put everyone there…” the experience was a bit odd and even off — Please be careful of such guest experiences in the diversity that the city is!

£8 to enter. Short walk from Highbury & Islington underground. Cafe and gallery shop also on site. Small garden area to sit in at the cafe if it’s a warm day. Nice building and very clean. The only thing that didn’t really do it for me was the art. I can’t claim to be knowledgeable or particularly interested in art so I view any galleries with a layman’s eye and I found the work uninspiring. Mostly early 20th century Italian artists on display. Pretty niche but some of the descriptions of how culture was impacted by Italian politics of the era was worth a read. The top galleries seemed like better work than those displayed on the lower floors. I wouldn’t return to this gallery but if it’s your thing then try this place out.

This is a little gem of a museum. The permanent collection as well as when I visited a special exhibit. One piece that particularly struck me was, John Furnival 'Europa and her Bull' (1966-7). The building itself is lovely but given its location best to go via public transport. As a side not both the giftshop and the coffee shop are great.

I had so much fun here! The temporary exhibition on Licini is informative and moving. There are six galleries and the paintings are rotated, so not all of the paintings from the collection are displayed at once. It’s a nice dose of art which is stimulating and not tiring. Makes it worth returning. The labels present information in a very captivating and in-depth way. My respect goes to the curators. I greatly enjoyed the coffee shop and the book shop. The prices in the book shop are surprisingly low. The gallery building and the garden are really pretty. Also, the bench designs go pretty hard and have no reason to be this good.

This gallery is small but perfectly formed, with a good collection of modernist work.

Luca, our tour guide, was so passionate and knowledge. I came not knowing what to expect and thoroughly enjoyed both the permanent and guest exhibitions. I found a few of the pieces quite moving in fact. Would definitely recommend if you have an hour to kill and happen to be close by.