National Portrait Gallery
St Martin's Place
London
Greater London
WC2H 0HE
England
Website
Telephone
Recorded Information
020 7312 2463
020 7306 0055
Fax
020 7306 0056
The National Portrait Gallery, founded in 1856, is home to the largest collection of portraits in the world, with works dating from the Middle Ages to the present day.
With over 1,000 portraits on display visitors can come face to face with the people who have shaped British history and culture, from Elizabeth I and Charles Dickens to The Beatles and David Beckham. Artists featured range from Holbein to Hockney, and the Collection includes work across all media, from painting and sculpture to photography and video.
Venue Type:
Gallery
Additional info
Evening Openings
The Gallery is open on Thursday and Friday evenings until 9pm. In addition to being able to view the Main Collection and exhibitions, special lectures (in English only) are held on Thursday evenings and free music events on Friday evenings.
The Collection is displayed chronologically, beginning with the earliest Tudor portraits on the top floor, the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, through to the Victorians and early 20th century on the first floor and finishing with the most contemporary part of the collection on the ground floor.
Collection details
Archives, Decorative and Applied Art, Fine Art, Personalities, Social History
Key artists and exhibits
- In addition to the Main Collection, a programme of special temporary exhibitions and displays runs throughout the year.
Humphrey Ocean: A handbook of modern life
Working swiftly in gouache on large sheets of paper in his studio, Ocean paints his sitters, including family members, friends and professional acquaintances, in simple forms and bold colours.
The project has an obsessive character that is compelling and, when seen together, the portraits are an exuberant display of the artist's love of painting, colour and people.
The sitters have shared the experience of sitting for a portrait, but Ocean has illuminated something unique about each person-how they tilt their head or how they wear their shirt - with an immediacy that tethers the image to the day they visited the studio.
Suitable for
- Any age
Where
Rooms 41 & 41a
Admission
Free.
Website
http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/display/2012/humphrey-ocean-a-handbook-of-modern-life.php
Jacob Epstein: Portrait Sculptor
The majority of the sculptures on display are executed in bronze and subjects depicted include actors, artists, authors, composers and politicians. The sculptures will be complemented with photographs showing the studio space, the artist at work and the sculptures in progress
Suitable for
- 7-10
- 14-15
- 18+
- 16-17
- 11-13
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