National Portrait Gallery

Facts and information

Address:: National Portrait Gallery, St. Martin’s Place (just off Trafalgar Square),
London WC2H 0HE
England
Website:: npg.org.uk
Opening times:: 10 AM to 6 PM (Sat–Wed), 10 AM to 9 PM (Thu, Fri); Last admission is 10 minutes before closing time, or 1 hour before closing time for exhibitions; Note: Opening times are subject to change, and may not apply on public holidays. Always reconfirm with the venue before making plans.
Cost:: Free
Telephone:: Work +44 (0) 207 306 0055
Buses:: 3 6 9 11 12 13 14 15 19 22 23 24 29 38 53 87 88 91 94 139 159 177 453
Trains:: Charing Cross BKL NRN, Covent Garden PCL, Embankment BKL CRC DSC NRN, Leicester Square NRN PCL, Piccadilly Circus BKL PCL Note: The nearest train station to National Portrait Gallery is Charing Cross. We can help you find the best route from any other train station:
Train journey to National Portrait Gallery

^{National Portrait Gallery}

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The National Portrait Gallery opened in 1856 and moved to its present site near the National Gallery forty years later. All of the images are of Britons past and present – a history of England in pictures.

It is a rather peculiar gallery, in that the works are judged more by historical importance than artistic merit. The works are all about the status of the sitter, rather than the person painting the image. So its chief role is putting a face to the names that you read about in your history books.

The Tudor and Stuart Galleries

The galleries are arranged in chronological order, starting with a masterpiece. A huge portrait of Queen Elizabeth I strides across a map of Britain – storm clouds raging where the Spanish Armada sank into the sea.

A surfeit of monarchs follows, with studies of Henry VII, Henry VIII and James I.

The Henry VII piece is the oldest in the gallery – painted by an unknown artist in 1505.

The most important piece is probably the one of Henry VIII – painted by Hans Holbein in 1536.

Another intriguing piece is the Duke of Monmouth’s portrait. He was the illegitimate son of Charles II who rose up against his uncle – James II. When he was subsequently beheaded he was found to lack a picture, so an artist was quickly summoned while his head was still ‘fresh’, and knocked one out in 24-hours.

^{Holbein’s Henry VIII} Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare

^{The Chandos portrait}

Authors at the National Portrait Gallery

If you’re after famous authors, then check out the Brontë Sisters. It was painted by their brother Branwell in 1834. After years of trying to make the grade in print, he died of drink, drugs and depression – you can even see where he painted himself out of the portrait.

There is also a controversial portrait of William Shakespeare – the Chandos portrait. This was the first piece to enter the collection – donated by Lord Ellesmere in 1856. Some people suggest that it isn’t him at all.

Other works include the only known likeness of Jane Austin (by her sister, Cassandra), and Samuel Pepys, William Wordsworth and George Bernard Shaw.

The photographic collection includes views of Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf and Lord Tennyson.

>> Drummerboy’s blog – National Portrait Gallery

Drummerboy – “The Tudor section upstairs is the best bit. You’ve got everyone from Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, to Francis Drake and Shakespeare. Then you go onto the Stuarts with Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, Samuel Pepys and Christopher Wren. The first half of the 20th-century has Churchill, Atlee and Neville Chamberlain, but after that it starts to go downhill. The last of the decades to feature ‘proper’ paitnings is the fifties, and then you’re lumbered with a load of photos, modern art and more abstract stuff… continued.”

>> Write a review of National Portrait Gallery Read all reviews

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pamHMRC – “i think i much prefer the national portrait gallery to the Tate Gallery. Probably because the meanings behind the paintings are easier to ascertain. My history isn't that great, but i can recognise some kings and queens and famous celebrities. But i am har… read the full review”
ian meyer – “i entered the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy once, and felt the same thing. When I went to pick up my painting I saw everything else I realised how "normal" my painting was. They are looking for things that stand out when they hang them o… read the full review”

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