January 12, 2015
BulletinNews Release
Contact:Campbell Hood
Tel: +44 78 6091 1622
Campbell.Hood@columbiathreadneedle.com

NATIONAL GALLERY’S TAKE ONE PICTURE EXHIBITIONSUPPORTED BY COLUMBIA THREADNEEDLE OPENS ON
TRAFALGAR SQUARE•

Opens today, Thursday, 1 August 2024

LONDON, 1 AUGUST 2024: Columbia Threadneedle Investments is proud to sponsor for the seventh consecutive year
the National Gallery’s annual Take One Picture learning programme and exhibition, opening today and continuing
throughout August. For the first time, the exhibition is being displayed outside the walls of the Gallery on Trafalgar
Square, running as part of the Gallery’s Free Festival of Art.
Take One Picture is the National Gallery’s countrywide scheme for primary schools which uses one painting from theGallery’s collection to inspire cross-curricular work in primary classrooms. Each year the Take One Picture programme
invites pupils to respond creatively to its themes, putting art at the centre of children’s learning and inspiring creativity,
curiosity and a lifelong connection with artists’ work. The programme is also supported by Columbia Threadneedle’s
charitable entity, Columbia Threadneedle Foundation.
In consultation with children, this year the selected work is Surprised! (1891) by Henri Rousseau, one of the Gallery’s top
20 most popular and visited paintings, as the source of inspiration. The painting shows a tiger in a jungle storm,
crouching low in long grass as rain lashes the foliage and lightning flashes overhead.
This year’s programme has been the biggest yet, with 300 schools participating – a 62% increase on 2023. 85% of thesewere state and Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools. The programme has been extremely successful in broadening
the learning of schoolchildren by connecting art with other subjects across the curriculum, such as history and geography,
making art more accessible to children and young people who have never visited an art gallery before.

Laura Cook, Head of Corporate Communications, EMEA & APAC, at Columbia Threadneedle Investments andChair of Columbia Threadneedle Foundation, said: “We are pleased the Take One Picture exhibition is taking placeoutside on Trafalgar Square for the first time. This excellent idea aligns with the Columbia Threadneedle Foundation'sstrategy of delivering long term social change by making art even more accessible to children and young people who may
not otherwise engage with the arts.
“Take One Picture’s innovative approach encourages children to develop their analytical skills through the interpretation ofan artwork, skills which they will take onward through their education and future life. The programme also celebrates
children’s artistic talents and fosters a sense of belonging in the Gallery. Our commitment to support Take One Picture
over the past seven years reflects the value we see in this national programme.”
Karen Eslea, Head of Learning and National Programmes at the National Gallery, said “Both Take One Picture andSummer on the Square are brilliant ways for us to reach children and help them develop an early knowledge andcuriosity around art and how this connects to their curriculum more broadly. We’re delighted to be bringing this year’sexhibition out onto Trafalgar Square and it’s been amazing to see the different things that have inspired children thisyear, from the animals’ environments to the physical feel of the foliage. ”The Take One Picture exhibition will run from Thursday 1 August 2024 until Sunday 1 September 2024 on Trafalgar
Square in London, as part of the Gallery’s Free Festival of Art. Admission is free.

Columbia Threadneedle Foundation invests in the community through partnerships that create positive social impact. TheFoundation focuses on charities that use education, art and sport to engender lasting social change through programmesthat build skills and confidence, challenge perspectives and broaden horizons.

For more information on Take One Picture visit: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/take-one-picture**** IMAGE ATTACHED – Credit line: ‘Surprised!’ by Henri Rousseau (1891), The National Gallery, London. ****- ENDS About Columbia Threadneedle Investments
Columbia Threadneedle Investments is a leading global asset manager, entrusted with £508bn1 on behalf of individual,
institutional and corporate clients around the world.
We have more than 2,500 people including approximately 650 investment professionals based in North America, Europeand Asia2. We offer our clients a wide range of strategies across equities, fixed income and alternatives, as well as
specialist responsible investment capabilities and a comprehensive suite of solutions.
Columbia Threadneedle Investments is the global asset management group of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP), aleading US-based financial services provider. As part of Ameriprise, we are supported by a large and well-capitalised
diversified financial services firm.
1
2

Source: Ameriprise Financial Q2 2024 earnings release
As at 30 June 2024, Columbia Threadneedle Investments

www.columbiathreadneedle.com
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About the National Gallery
The National Gallery is one of the greatest art galleries in the world. Founded by Parliament in 1824, the Gallery houses
the nation’s collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the late 13th to the early 20th century. Thecollection includes works by Bellini, Cezanne, Degas, Leonardo, Monet, Raphael, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens, Titian,Turner, Van Dyck, Van Gogh and Velázquez. The Gallery’s key objectives are to enhance the collection, care for thecollection and provide the best possible access to visitors. Admission free. More at nationalgallery.org.uk
On 10 May 2024 the National Gallery was 200 years old, and we started our Bicentenary celebration, a year-long festivalof art, creativity and imagination, marking two centuries of bringing people and paintings together.
About Take One Picture
Launched in 1995, Take One Picture is the National Gallery’s countrywide scheme for primary schools. Each year theGallery focuses on one painting from the collection to inspire cross-curricular work in primary classrooms. The Gallery
offers one-day training sessions which give teachers the opportunity to learn about the focus picture and explore thepedagogy and practice of using paintings as a rich resource for child-led, investigative learning. Each year a selection ofwork produced by schools based on the painting is shown at the National Gallery and published on the website. In order
to be considered for the display, schools submit examples of how a whole class or school has used the picture to inspire
projects that are child-led and cross-curricular, and through which children have learned a new process and involved
people or places in the local community.
Further information about the programme, related CPD courses for teachers, and the annual Take One Picture exhibitionat the National Gallery can be found at nationalgallery.org.uk/take-one-picture
About Henri Rousseau
Rousseau was born at Laval and first worked as an inspector at a toll station on the outskirts of Paris (1871 -85). From
this his popular name 'le douanier' (the customs officer) is derived. He took seriously to painting after retirement andexhibited from 1886 at the Salon des Indépendants. He is best known for his jungle fantasy pictures, of which theCollection contains one example.
Rousseau was apparently indebted to Gauguin in the composition of his works, and to traditional Salon painters,
like Gérôme, in his careful technique. His work attracted a small group of admirers, including Picasso, Léger, and thepoet Apollinaire, but he was otherwise regarded as a complete eccentric.
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