The National Portrait Gallery --located at 2 St Martin's Place, London
Founded in 1856 as a collection of portraits of notable personalities, the gallery now contains more than 4,500 pictures, drawings, a recently extended collection of photographs and works of sculpture depicting people who have played a leading part in public life in Britain. No portraits are put on display until the person concerned has been dead at least 10 years; only members of the royal family are excepted from this rule. For the most part the portraits are displayed in chronological order, the decoration of the rooms reflecting the particular epoch.
