James Gillray was the leading satirist of the regency producing numerous biting and funny caricatures on politics, royalty and social life. The National Portrait Gallery owns copies of over ninety ...

Campbell was initially apprenticed to an Edinburgh marble cutter. In 1816, his marble busts caught the attention of Gilbert Innes of Stow, who became his patron. Innes's financial support enabled ...

This book introduces the reader to the key people who have shaped the history of Britain, its culture and identity, by exploring essential highlights from the National Portrait Gallery’s unrivalled ...

Johnston was closely involved in what has been called the 'scramble for Africa' by 19th-century colonial powers. He published forty books on African subjects and in the 1890s was the first British ...

Born in Grenada, East Caribbean in 1945, John emigrated to Britain in 1964. He is an associate professor of education and honorary fellow of the University of London (UCL) Institute of Education and ...

Daniel Defoe was a novelist, pamphleteer and journalist who gained enduring fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe (1719). Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest practitioners of the novel who ...

The Primary Collection contains more than 12,700 portraits. Of these, over 4,100 are paintings, sculptures and miniatures. In addition, there are over 8,500 light-sensitive works on paper, shown on a ...

Booking required for school groups only. Please see the School visits page. The Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award makes a welcome return to the National Portrait Gallery for 2024. The prestigious ...

John Gay was a poet and dramatist, best remembered for his hugely successful dramatic satire The Beggar's Opera (1727). Along with his friend Alexander Pope (1688-1744), Gay was a member of the ...

Eleanor of Castile was the first queen consort of King Edward I. She was the daughter of King Ferdinand III of Castile and his wife, Joan of Ponthieu. In 1254 Eleanor was married to Lord Edward, son ...

Richard Beard was born in Devon, the son of a grocer in Newton Abbot. He moved to London in 1833 and profitably established himself in the coal trade until 1843. Beard set up in photography as a ...

Catherine Elizabeth Gordon (née Hamilton), Countess of Aberdeen (wife) John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair (grandson) ...