Calendar

Portraits by some of the most exciting contemporary photographers from around the world.

Featuring over fifty works from public and private collections across the world, Gainsborough’s Family Album will provide a unique insight into the private life and motivations of Thomas Gainsborough (1727–88), one of Britain’s greatest artists.

The first major exhibition on Tudor and Jacobean portrait miniatures in the UK for over 35 years, Elizabethan Treasures: Miniatures by Hilliard and Oliver will bring together key works from the National Portrait Gallery and major loans from public and private collections to showcase the careers of the most skilled artists of the period, Nicholas Hilliard (1547? – 1619) and Isaac Oliver (c.1565 – 1617). 

A major new exhibition of works by Martin Parr, one of Britain’s best-known and most widely celebrated photographers. Only Human: Martin Parr, brings together some of Parr’s best known photographs with a number of works never exhibited before to focus on one of his most engaging subjects – people. 

A major new retrospective of works by leading contemporary artist Cindy Sherman will go on display in Summer 2019.

The BP Portrait Award is the most prestigious international exhibition of contemporary portrait painting.

Created in close collaboration with the artist, Elizabeth Peyton, explores the development of Peyton’s unique portraiture from the 1990s to the present day

This major exhibition is the first-ever to focus on the untold story of the women of Pre-Raphaelite art.

Anne is one of the most famous queens in English history, although her reign only lasted for three years, she helped to change the course of history.  Anne joined Henry VIII’s court, in 1522; and soon she came to the notice of the king.  By early December 1532 Anne was pregnant with her first child and Henry was forced into action and broke with the Catholic Church.  He divorced his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, and married Anne in a secret ceremony.  Just three years later she was the first queen in  English history to be executed. Join us to find out what caused Anne's downfall.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

The poet Byron was famous for his swaggering good looks and his brilliant, reckless personality.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Painter, printer, designer, writer and collector. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, to an English father and French mother. From an early age he unstintingly pursued a compulsion to live for art. In 1882 he met Charles Shannon with whom he lived for the remainder of his life. Edited and published The Dial (1889-97), produced with Shannon, consisting of poetry, prose and illustrations in a blend of English Pre-Raphaelitism and French Symbolism, it is a key document of the Aesthetic Movement. On reading the first edition, Oscar Wilde remarked 'Do not bring out a second number, all perfect things should be unique'. Ricketts was a witty and ascerbic conversationalist and a formidable connoisseur who, with Shannon, formed an important collection of works of art.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Painter and sculptor born in Scarborough. Leighton received academic training in various European cities. His first exhibited work Cimabue's Madonna, painted in Rome in 1855, was a triumph at the Royal Academy's exhibition and its success marked Leighton as one of the most promising artists of his generation. He was elected President of the RA in 1878 and became one of the most successful holders of the office.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

DJ Mr Madam combines a range of musical styles to create his sets.

Join artist Alison Kusner for our popular weekly drawing session in the Gallery.

Taking inspiration from Gainsborough’s advice on picture-making to compose objects ‘in friendship’, therefore expressing a unified harmony.

Richard III was the last king of England of the royal house of York.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Painter and sculptor born in Scarborough. Leighton received academic training in various European cities. His first exhibited work Cimabue's Madonna, painted in Rome in 1855, was a triumph at the Royal Academy's exhibition and its success marked Leighton as one of the most promising artists of his generation. He was elected President of the RA in 1878 and became one of the most successful holders of the office.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Taking inspiration from the early photographic processes used by both contemporary and historical artists currently on display, join visual artist Almudena Romero for an introduction to the historical process of pinhole photography on day one and the cameraless techniques of photograms and chemigrams on day two.

Lloyd George was elected Liberal MP for Carnarvon Boroughs in 1890, a seat he held for fifty-five years. He became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1908. In 1909 he introduced old-age pensions and, in 1911, the National Insurance Act, a scheme against ill-health and unemployment. He backed the war in defence of Belgium in 1914 and in 1916 became Prime Minister. He is remembered as one of Britain's greatest wartime leaders. He remained Prime Minister in a coalition government until 1922. A celebrated orator, his last speech in the House of Commons in 1940 attacked Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, and helped bring about the succession of Winston Churchill. 

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Knight studied at Nottingham School of Art in 1900, and there met Harold Knight. After marrying in 1903, they joined an artists' colony at Staithes, Yorkshire, before moving in 1908 to Newlyn, Cornwall. In 1929 she was created Dame of the British Empire, and in 1936 became the first woman elected to full membership of the Royal Academy. Her subjects included Gypsies, dancers and circus performers. During the war, her popularity and distinguished career made her an obvious choice for the War Artists Advisory Committee, who tasked British artists with recording the war. In 1945 she asked to record the trial of Nazi war criminals in Nuremberg. Her 1965 retrospective at the RA was the first accorded to a woman.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Join us today to find out more about these three revolutionary artists and fanatics of fashion. They explored the boundaries between art, fashion, and theatricals. Together we will discover the ties that bind them together.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Take inspiration this festive season from some of our best-dressed sitters, with a focus on glamorous garments fit for any party.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Take advantage of the Gallery’s late opening and enjoy Eddie’s set and a drink at our pop-up bar.

Join artist Andy Pankhurst for our popular weekly drawing session in the Gallery.

Gain a Queer Perspective on our Collection with resident artist Sadie Lee and her special guest, actress and writer Sophie Ward, as they discuss portraits which have a personal resonance.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of John Ruskin’s birth, Robert Hewison (recognised expert on the work of John Ruskin, 1819-1900), explores the life and ideas of the Victorian era's leading art critic through his autobiographical writings and his encounters with a series of major works of art.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

DJ Mr Madam combines a range of musical styles to create his sets.

Join artist Marc Woodhead for our popular weekly drawing session in the Gallery.

To celebrate Faber and Faber’s 90th anniversary, Faber poets Richard Scott and Mary Jean Chan read work from their current collections and the work of other Faber poets who have inspired them, including Thom Gunn

Join Serena Cant as she explores portraits from 1919 onwards, where vibrant colours and experimental styles begin to emerge from the shadows of the First World War.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Artist Alison Kusner leads this two day workshop which begins with sketching from a portrait by Sargent in the Gallery, during which you will consider pose, setting, costume, expression and technique. Back in the studio you will learn the sight-size technique while working from a copy of your chosen portrait on a dark ground.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Join artist Robin-Lee Hall for our popular weekly drawing session in the Gallery.

The Pasuka Lecture and Prize, named in honour of the pioneering dancer, choreographer, Jamaican migrant to Britain, and Black gay man, Berto Pasuka (1911-1963), celebrate pioneering contributions to the arts.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Join artist Sadie Lee to explore portraits in the Gallery from a queer perspective and develop your painting techniques to create a personal response. In celebration of LGBT History Month.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

The first major exhibition on Tudor and Jacobean portrait miniatures in the UK for over 35 years

No need to RSVP, simply bring your Membership card to the entrance of the exhibition for admittance to this Members’ only preview.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Biographer Paul Willetts discusses the long history of white people dressing up as Native Americans.

This February half term, bring your family and friends to enjoy activities across the Gallery and be inspired by stories of LGBT history and people in the Collection.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Visit FAB – our Family Activity Base – and collect a range of free printed resources and art materials to take into the galleries and explore the Collection

The Gallery is a special, quite sacred space so I like to start off with something gentle and soothingly familiar before moving onto more challenging and experimental pieces.

Join artist Alison Kusner for our popular weekly drawing session in the Gallery.

Using Elizabethan Treasures: Miniatures by Hilliard and Oliver as a starting point, draw in miniature and focus on Hilliard’s wonderfully detailed style.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

Join photographer Rory Lewis to investigate both archetypal and subversive depictions of strength and power.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection, check signage on the day for details.

Portrait of the Day talks are given by members of the Gallery's Visitor Services Team and last for up to 30 minutes. Talks are subject to change so please call 0207 306 0055 on the day or check signage in the Gallery.

To mark LGBT History Month and Valentine’s Day, discover the stories and scandals that have marked the lives of some of the Collection’s greatest lovers.

A major new exhibition of works by Martin Parr, one of Britain’s best-known and most widely celebrated photographers

No need to RSVP, simply bring your Membership card to the entrance of the exhibition for admittance to this Members’ only preview.

An international conference sponsored jointly by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, the National Portrait Gallery, London, the European Research Council and the University of Cambridge.

Our Members’ Evening Private Views give you the chance to visit the Gallery after-hours and are a great way to see our exhibitions away from the crowds.

Please RSVP to this event from 27 February

This Members’ favourite, the BP Portrait Award 2019, is the leading international competition celebrating the very best in contemporary portrait painting from around the world and is open to everyone from ages 18 and over.

No need to RSVP, simply bring your Membership card to the entrance of the exhibition for admittance to this Members’ only preview.

Including the ground-breaking series, Untitled Film Stills, 1977-80, this major new exhibition will explore the development of Sherman’s work from the mid-1970s to the present day.

No need to RSVP, simply bring your Membership card to the entrance of the exhibition for admittance to this Members’ only preview.

This display features the six winning Members portraits, a film documenting the project, and a selection of portraits depicting some of our well-known Members, such as Dr Who and The Thick of It star Peter Capaldi and British photographer Mary McCartney.

This small display examines the Tudor construction of Plantagenet portraits and their legacy in the popular imagination.

Continuing a series of thematic explorations of the Collection, this display draws together historic and contemporary portraits that record and affirm the bonds of friendship.

This display marks the bicentenary of the birth of George Eliot (1819–80), one of Britain’s most renowned novelists.

This display celebrates recently acquired portraits by contemporary artists, whose work builds on early photographic processes.

The display celebrates a range of creative women, including artists Liliane Lijn and Glenys Barton, authors Marina Warner and Margaret Drabble, actresses Glenda Jackson and Judi Dench and Nobel Prize recipient Nadine Gordimer.

This display celebrates their acquisition as the largest group of portraits of Afro-Caribbean sitters into the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection.

This display unveils portraits commissioned by the John Kobal New Work Award over the last four years.

This display brings together new and existing works from Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s ongoing series, “The Beautyful Ones”.

In 1969, the National Portrait Gallery began to collect portraits of living sitters. Since then the contemporary collection has grown considerably through acquisitions and commissioned portraits and now encompasses works produced from 2000 to the present day.

The exhibition presents an overview of the campaign for Votes for Women from the late 19th century until 1918. Photographs, prints, drawings and paintings from the Gallery’s collection will be displayed with some of the items from each property’s own collection which brings portraiture and places together to share stories that neither partner can tell as fully on their own.

This exhibition of unclothed portraits from the National Portrait Gallery Collection invites questions about identity and gender, the real and ideal. It includes portraits of exposed sitters from Nell Gwyn to Naomi Campbell, Gilbert and George to John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

The BP Portrait Award is the most prestigious international exhibition of contemporary portrait painting.

The BP Portrait Award is the most prestigious international exhibition of contemporary portrait painting.

The Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London, embraces over 500 years of British history, more than 60,000 sitters and explores ideas of social change, power and influence. Arguably as powerful and influential as any individual are the heads of state and empire, whose portraits are among the most popular in the Gallery’s Collection.

This landmark exhibition explores the influence of Michael Jackson on some of the leading names in contemporary art, spanning several generations of artists across all media.

An illuminating Path, 1998 by David LaChapelle. Courtesy of the artist. © David LaChapelle (detail)

Featuring over fifty works from public and private collections across the world, Gainsborough’s Family Album will provide a unique insight into the private life and motivations of Thomas Gainsborough (1727–88), one of Britain’s greatest artists.

The Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London, embraces over 500 years of British history, more than 60,000 sitters and explores ideas of social change, power and influence. Arguably as powerful and influential as any individual are the heads of state and empire, whose portraits are among the most popular in the Gallery’s Collection.

This landmark exhibition explores the influence of Michael Jackson on some of the leading names in contemporary art, spanning several generations of artists across all media.

An illuminating Path, 1998 by David LaChapelle. Courtesy of the artist. © David LaChapelle (detail)

This landmark exhibition explores the influence of Michael Jackson on some of the leading names in contemporary art, spanning several generations of artists across all media.

An illuminating Path, 1998 by David LaChapelle. Courtesy of the artist. © David LaChapelle (detail)