Portraits

The portrait section of art museums is typically one I walk through rather fast. Normally you’ll see there the classic oil paintings of people you don’t know; it is still art but less interesting to me. The National Portrait Gallery at London is very different as it combines portraits in various forms of paintings with photographs of different ages, busts and statues. Already close to the entrance you can meet Ed Sheeran, king Charles III and Nelson Mandela. You won’t only see portraits, but also different technologies to create them – and that is one reason why the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is special.

Of course you can discover the classic paintings of the Tudors here, but you’ll also see George Michael, Lady Di and Tim Berners-Lee (the inventor of the WWW!). Entrance to the National Portrait Gallery is free of charge with the exception of special exhibitions. The NPG was opened in 1856 and was by that time the only museum focussed just on portraits; most famous exhibit is the so-called Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare. The entrance to the NPG is on the reverse side of the National Gallery which means you need to walk around the building when coming from Trafalgar Square (accessible via Charing Cross) or you go to Leicester Square and walk few meters down the road.

National Portrait Gallery
Trafalgar square
London
England
United Kingdom