London
London
+ Central London
Sights
* Apsley House
* Banqueting House
* BBC Experience
* British Airways London Eye
* Buckingham Palace
* Cabinet War Rooms
* Chelsea
* Clink Exhibition
* Courtauld Gallery
* Design Museum
* Dickens House Museum
* Docklands
* Fleet Street
* Guildhall
* Hampstead
* Harrods
* HMS Belfast
* Highgate
* Hyde Park
* Imperial War Museum
* Inns of Court
* Jermyn Street
* Jewel Tower
* Kensington Palace and Kensington Gardens
* Kenwood House
* Leighton House
* Lloyd's Building
* London Aquarium
* London Dungeon
* London Planetarium
* London Transport Museum
* London Zoo
* Madame Tussaud's
* Monument
* Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green
* Museum of London
* National Army Museum
* National Portrait Gallery
* Oxo Tower
* Piccadilly Circus
* Regent's Park
* Royal Academy (of Arts)
* St Bartholomew-the-Great
* St Bride
* St James's Palace
* St James's Park
* St James's Piccadilly
* St James's Street
* St Katharine's Dock
* St Stephen Walbrook
* Shakespeare's Globe Exhibition
* Sir John Soane's Museum
* Soho
* Southwark Cathedral
* Spencer House
* Tate Britain and Tate Modern
* Theatre Museum
* Tower Bridge
* Trafalgar Square
* Wallace Collection
* Westminster Cathedral
* Whitehall
* Winston Churchill's Britain at War
Vicinity
+ Vicinity
Walk/Drive
Food&Drink
In The Know
Did You Know?
( Do not miss )
If you've ever wanted to put a face to a famous name from British history then this is the place to do it. Founded in 1856 as the 'Gallery of the Portraits of the most eminent persons in British History', the gallery's earliest contemporary portrait is that of Henry VII, from 1505. If you want to see the exhibits in chronological order go up to the top floor and work your way down. The collection is too large to be displayed at one time so changes periodically. The pictures least likely to change are the oldest, many of which are of great historical value. Those most likely to be rotated are the portraits of late 20th-century figures; the display of new additions tends to be dictated by current public interest.
Most visitors' favourites are the very earliest (top floor), the most recent, the Victorian and the early 20th century galleries. Predictably, there are many images of royalty, and at opposite ends of the gallery is a wonderful contrast of styles featuring the likenesses of Elizabeth I and, some 400 years later, the present British queen, Elizabeth II. The Coronation Portrait of Elizabeth I is an acclaimed masterpiece, while much more controversial is the colour screenprint, in signature fashion by Andy Warhol, of the current monarch. This also underlines the point that the gallery holds more than just conventional paintings; sculptures, photography, sketches, silhouettes, caricatures and other methods of portraiture are all featured. Visitors in search of Diana, Princess of Wales, will find her on level 2, alongside many members of the present royal family.
Address: St Martin's Place, Orange Street
Phone: (020) 7306 0055 WEBSITE: www.npg.org.uk
Open: Mon-Sat 10-6, Sun 12-6. Closed 24-26 Dec, 1 Jan, Good Fri, May Day public hol
Restaurant: Restaurant (Moderately priced), café (Inexpensive)
Metro: Leicester Square, Charing Cross
Accessible: Excellent (use Orange Street entrance)
Admission: Free (except special exhibitions)
Practical: Personal Sound Guide tour of up to 200 portraits ( Admission: cheap). Frequent lectures and tours
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