It was announced recently that despite the strike at the National Gallery in London, the exhibition of Velazquez will not be closed. The strike with about 140 staff taking part was caused by the discontent with the arrangements about the holidays. The gallery says that there was a “mistake” made in its terms and conditions in 1999 and explains that the staff were not entitled to the holidays they wish to have. As a result of the strike, 59 of the gallery’s rooms were closed. However, the spokesman Alex Flynn expressed his hopes that the management would take into consideration the discontent of the staff and would solve the problem during negotiations. Meanwhile, the 17th Century Spanish painter’s exhibition is still a great success, with about 14,000 advance tickets already being sold. The exhibition displays 46 works and will include paintings from the Spanish, Austrian and the US collections. The painter became popular with the British collectors in the 18th century and inspired such artists as Sargent, Whistler, Picasso, Dali and Bacon.

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