National Portrait Gallery

About National Portrait Gallery

Art museum in London, England, United Kingdom

The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people; when it opened in 1856 it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world dedicated to portraits. In 1896 it moved to its present site at St Martin's Place off Trafalgar Square, adjoining the National Gallery, and it has regional outposts at Beningbrough Hall in Yorkshire and Montacute House in Somerset; it is unconnected to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, although their remits overlap. A public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, it reopened in 2023 after a three-year refurbishment with a new entrance and rehung galleries. Visitors walk through the galleries chronologically, following British history since the Tudors: from the portrait of Henry VII and Hans Holbein's drawings of Henry VIII's court, through Elizabeth I and Shakespeare, to the scientists, writers, explorers and politicians of later centuries, and on to the 20th century and the present, including contemporary works such as Julian Opie's portrait of the band Blur, along with photography and popular temporary exhibitions such as the annual portrait prize. Wikivoyage describes it as an entertaining way to learn about British history through the faces of those who made it; it stands beside the National Gallery, so the two are visited together, and its top-floor restaurant has a famous view over Trafalgar Square to the clock tower of Parliament.

Where:

London, United Kingdom