The Gallery holds the most extensive collection of portraits in the world. Search over 215,000 works, 150,000 of which are illustrated from the 16th Century to the present day.

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Acrylic

A paint made with a synthetic acrylic resin, quick-drying and usually water-based. First used in the 1940s, it combines some of the properties of oil and watercolour and can be used to create a variety of effects from thin washes to thick brushwork. Although it behaves like oil paint when wet it doesn't give the same rich translucency.

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Enter our Jubilee family competition

Submit your family’s recreation of a Royal portrait to win some Jubilee goodies

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Discover our BP Next Generation short films made by artists. Follow step by step guides in drawing and painting techniques.

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Hold Still photography workshop

Reflect on your own experiences of lockdown through this easy-to-do from home, photographic exercise. 

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Draw Like a Renaissance Master

Revisit The Encounter exhibition and learn about Renaissance and Baroque drawing methods and materials.

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