"It was fascinating to not only have the chance to film paintings from one of the world's great collections but also to have the opportunity to film aspects of the work involved in the study, restoration, exhibition, and public education related to the National Gallery's superb collection.​ I was not particularly interested in the power and political struggles among the staff at the National Gallery. All the major human experiences - birth, death, war, cruelty, kindness, love, ambition, greed, lust, tenderness, and banality - are present in the paintings.​

The question of how to film a painting is fascinating. I thought the best way was, when possible, to remain inside the frame of the painting. The painting can fill the screen and the viewer is not distracted by other paintings, the plaque with the name of the artist, the frame or the wall. I think the world of the painting is more present when shot in this manner. The painting becomes less of an object and the viewer can more easily enter its world.​

In an abstract way the film tries to compare different ways of telling a story, whether it be a painting, movie, dance, play, poem, or novel. The abstract issues – characterization, passage of time, creation of metaphor – are the same. NATIONAL GALLERY, in an abstract way, tries to suggest how these common issues are dealt with in different forms, particularly in film.

When I start I have no idea of the themes or point of view. I discover the film in the editing."

- Frederick Wiseman

Since 1967, Frederick Wiseman has directed 43 documentaries—dramatic, narrative films that seek to portray ordinary human experience in a wide variety of contemporary social institutions. His films include TITICUT FOLLIES, HIGH SCHOOL, WELFARE, JUVENILE COURT, BOXING GYM, LA DANSE, BALLET, CENTRAL PARK, and CRAZY HORSE.

Wiseman's work has been distributed in theatres and broadcast on television in many countries by his Cambridge, MA company, Zipporah Films www.zipporah.com