National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery is a public art gallery located on Charing Cross Road in Westminster, built between 1890 and 1895 by architects Ewan Christian and J.K. Colling. The building features a freely composed Italian Renaissance design, constructed from Portland stone, with slate, lead, and glazed roofs. It consists of two main storeys, a basement, and upper top-lit galleries, with a north front that is nine windows wide.

The entrance is located in a short return and features a projecting lower pedimented entrance block, which is set at a picturesque angle on the corner. It includes a semicircular arched doorway with the Royal Arms carved in the tympanum, flanked by short pilasters and portrait medallions above. The main north front has a rusticated ground floor with square-headed plate glass windows, while the upper floor features paired square-headed windows divided by granite shafts with distinctly Early English capitals, all set beneath semicircular arches that frame portrait medallions. The façade is adorned with string courses, a cornice, and a deep parapet.

To the south, a shallow wing completes the east elevation of the National Gallery, showcasing giant engaged columns at the bowed center and Grecian pilasters at the end pavilions, which contribute to its Grade I listing. The west Duveen wing, added in 1933 by the Office of Works, is a more restrained ashlar extension. Ornate cast iron area railings enhance the exterior. The interiors have been altered, with the exception of the staircase.