National Gallery

The National Gallery is a picture gallery constructed between 1832 and 1838 by William Wilkins. It was designed to dominate the north side of Trafalgar Square and initially to house the Angerstein Collection that the government purchased at the request of George IV, as well as to accommodate the Royal Academy. The building is constructed of Portland stone, with concealed glazed gallery roofs.

The architecture exemplifies a scholarly Graeco-Roman classicism, presenting well in perspective but less effectively from a direct frontal view due to a balanced distribution of design elements along the long elevation. The building is two stories high, with a plinth base, and features 32 windows across its width. The central section is defined by an octastyle pedimented portico, accompanied by smaller tetrastyle portico entrances on the sides and terminal pavilions. The central Corinthian portico is raised on a podium wall with flanking steps. Behind the portico pediment is a stone, cupola-topped dome on a stone drum. Giant, pilastered bays flank the main portico, which then transitions to the walls of the wings. The ground-floor windows have architraves and cornices, while the first-floor windows are blind. The smaller porticoes in the wings have parapets over their central bays. The terminal pavilions are marked by pairs of giant pilasters and topped with small, octagonal stone cupolas featuring pierced openings. A sill band runs along the first floor, and the main entablature features a dentil cornice and a balustraded parapet.

The bases and reworked capitals from Carlton House, which had been demolished, were incorporated into the wing porticoes. A seated statue of Minerva, originally designed as Britannia for Marble Arch, by Flaxman is situated on the east facade.

The interior spaces mostly date from renovations by E. M. Barry between 1867 and 1876, with the vestibule and central hall redesigned by Sir J. Taylor between 1885 and 1887. The site for the gallery was initially proposed by Nash as part of his Metropolitan Improvements and the overall plan for Trafalgar Square.