This month, the West End’s leading art institutions are uniting to display their masterpieces outdoors as The Art of London Augmented Gallery. Sound interesting? There’s an added twist: it will be through the lens of augmented reality

The Art of London Augmented Gallery is a unique collaboration between the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Academy of Arts and Sky Arts – who each have curated a selection of classic and contemporary masterpieces so you can safely enjoy some of the world’s greatest art in the open air.

Beginning at the National Gallery and ending at Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly - taking in St. Martin’s Lane, Piccadilly Circus, Princes Arcade, and Jermyn Street along the way - The Augmented Gallery consists of twenty life-sized colourful frames and plaques on walls around the West End. They each have a unique QR code for you to unlock timeless masterpieces framed in 3D. Simply download the Art of London Augmented Gallery app to unlock this quirky new trail.

Featuring classic paintings and modern works such as Titian, Vincent van Gogh, Alexandria Artemisia Gentileschi, and Tracey Emin, portraits of iconic sitters from William Shakespeare to Malala Yousafzai, and contemporary portraits of famous faces including Sir Tom Jones, Sir Ian McKellen, Elaine Paige, Nile Rodgers and Imelda Staunton. The works are all by finalists and winners of Portrait Artist of the Year, which airs on Sky Arts and will return later this year. You can also listen to audio commentary from experts – as well as amusing musings from comedian and art lover James Acaster and Stephen Mangan.

The Augmented Gallery is a free to enjoy public art trail that can be accessed on all smartphone devices through the centralized app, available for iOS here and on Android here (or by searching ‘Art of London’ on your usual app store).

Looking for more art inspiration? Visit our cultural re-awakening guide here.