New Art Advance Sales Record

An exhibition for master Spanish painter Diego Velazquez has reportedly sold more advance tickets than any previous art show ever put on by Britain's National Art Gallery. Advance sales for the art exhibition, due to be held between October 18 and January 21, have already out-stripped those of art exhibitions of other famous painters such as Vermeer, Titian and Caravaggio, The Guardian said. Gallery bosses said in June that they expected to welcome up to 300,000 visitors, making it the most popular paid-for art show ever at the National Gallery. The chronology of his works is to occupy the largest amount of floor space dedicated to an exhibition at the art gallery for 20 years. Velazquez, born in Seville in 1599, inspired the works of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Francis Bacon. The National Gallery will exhibit 40 of Velazquez's 80 works of art, including portraits, historical scenes and mythology. At least 20 will be shown in Britain for the first time. The gallery has the largest collection of Velazquez paintings outside the Museo del Prado in Madrid. Irish Art