National Portrait Gallery

Founded in 1856, the National Portrait Gallery is located in London just off Trafalgar Square and is home to the world's largest collection of portraits, featuring famous men and women who helped shape British history from the great Tudor courts to the present day, with contemporary portraits reflecting the diversity and the creativity and multiculturalism of modern Britain. Weaving together 500 years of history, art, biography and fame, the gallery offers a unique and fascinating insight into those individuals who together define the nation, and its 3,000 paintings feature some of the most famous and recognizable faces in British history, from Elizabeth I to JK Rowling and others, giving visitors the chance to meet face-to-face with the nation's most famous kings, queens, courtiers, politicians, poets, soldiers, scientists, artists, writers, philosophers and movie stars.