National Portrait Gallery (London)
The National Portrait Gallery in London is a fascinating gallery containing portraits of prominent persons over the centuries.
It can be found in St. Martin`s Place, just around the corner from the much better known National Gallery.
The gallery opened in 1859, while the present building dates from 1896 and was the work of architect Ewan Christian.
In the 20th century, the paintings have been added to by photographs. There are now in excess of 9,000 portraits, one of the oldest being Hans Holbein`s cartoon of Henry VIII.