From Humble Beginings-The National Portrait Gallery

Angela Cox's talk on the 150 year history of the National Portrait Gallery was entitled "From Humble Beginnings". Humble in some ways-opening with just 56 portraits, enough to fill the entrance hall and one floor of a London house-but grandiose in others: the paintings must have a strictly moral purpose; the sitter should be famous, for a suitable reason; he or she should have been dead for at least ten years so as to ensure that their fame was lasting and not merely transient; furthermore each image must be authentic and contemporary- none of those imaginary images created several centuries on: this must be the real thing! And to make sure that these rules were followed trustees were appointed from the good, including two future prime ministers Gladstone and Disraeli, both of whom attended diligently for the rest of their lives. The portraits must be in any medium provided that they fulfilled the basic requirements: oils and watercolours of course, and oil pastel; miniatures; sculptures; an exquisite self portrait by George Stubbs on a ceramic base made by Josiah Wedgwood; even a slightly gruesome collection of death masks. And photographs-which is a whole lecture in itself because as photography developed it started to raise the questions as "Why paint?" and "What is a likeness?" As portraiture developed to meet these new challenges so the Gallery's rules and functions developed to meet new ages and thinking. By the mid 20th century the old rules were found to be too restricting and irksome. The sciences and women were sorely unrepresented in the collection. The 10-year rule was preventing too many potential acquisitions. Things had to change. From the 1980's the Gallery started actively commissioning work. Horizons broadened. Recent work includes portraits of Viv Richards, Frank Bruno and other sportsmen, and an exuberant glass mosaic bust of designer Zandra Rhodes. The beginnings may have been humble, but 150 years on the National Gallery is justifiably proud.