National Portrait Gallery, National art museum in Westminster, United Kingdom
The National Portrait Gallery displays thousands of painted portraits showing notable British figures from six centuries at St Martin's Place near Trafalgar Square. The rooms spread across several floors inside a Renaissance Revival building with large windows and high ceilings.
Parliament approved the founding in 1856, making it the first national public gallery devoted to portraits anywhere in the world. The building at St Martin's Place opened in 1896, designed by architect Ewan Christian in the Italian Renaissance manner.
Portraits here show monarchs, writers, thinkers and reformers who shaped British public life over the centuries. Walking through the rooms, visitors see how fashion, expression and painting techniques changed as each generation looked at itself.
Opening hours run from 10:30 to 18:00 Sunday through Thursday, with late hours until 21:00 on Friday and Saturday. Admission is free, though visitors may want to book online ahead to avoid any wait at the entrance.
During World War II, staff evacuated the entire collection to Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire alongside treasures from the Royal Collection. Today, some rooms use natural daylight from above, which changes how visitors see the colours and brushwork hour by hour.
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