National Portrait Gallery, London – a quick photo tour

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

London is blessed with loads of free museums and art galleries, and yesterday I took shelter from the blazing heat to take a pleasing stroll around the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square.

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

I arrived late in the afternoon, so the gallery was almost deserted, giving me the solitude and silence to really appreciate some of the works.

I got lost in my thoughts in the section on Victorian Britain, gazing at the faces of ruthless capitalists, talented inventors and generous philanthropists.

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

I spent some time looking at the portrait of the famous naturalist, geologist and biologist, Charles Darwin (above), looking old and weary at the end of a life well spent.

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

Ruffs galore! I love looking at the flamboyant fashions adopted by the rich and influential throughout the centuries.

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

Crowns everywhere.

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

An assemblage of busts.

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

I liked this portrait of Derek Jarman, entitled ‘Seer.’

The last sanctioned work by Jarman, it includes a quotation from Lorca in mirror-writing. In translation this reads: ‘Enjoy the luscious landscape of my wound … but hurry! … Time meets us, and we are destroyed.’

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

Admiring the art.

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

Painted in 1716, this 3D portrait shows East India Company Deputy Governor Joseph Collet.

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

A lone gallery assistant admires the artworks.

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

I loved this well crafted painted bust.

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

Purchased by the Gallery this year, Tracey Emin’s Death Mask is a 3D self-portrait cast by Emin in 2002 as an ironic reference to the autobiographical nature of her work.

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

Closing time.

National Portrait Gallery, London - a quick photo tour, June 2017

Mosaic spells out the letters NPG.

More info

National Portrait Gallery
St Martin’s Place
London
WC2H 0HE
General enquiries
020 7306 0055

Open daily 10:00-18:00 Thursday-Friday until 21:00

Closing commences at 17.50 and 20.50
Entry to the Gallery is Free
Free WiFi available

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