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Apart from housing a fascinating collection of famous
men and women, it also hosts the BP Portrait competition,
an anuual event which showcases the best young artisitic
talent.
The restaurant on the top floor has great views and
a reasonable wine list. There are two eateries - The
Portrait Restaurant located on the top floor serving
a modern British menu and The Portrait Cafe in the basement
serving sandwiches and refreshments.
The National Portrait Gallery harbours a wonderful source
of free art. Get yourself to the IT gallery, where you'll
find a bank of large touch-screen monitors (all attached to
a hidden bank of power macs) which you can use to take a virtual
tour of the gallery before you even begin looking at any pictures
"in the flesh".
The monitors are well spaced out, and the leather chairs
are exceptionally comfy, so it's easy to spend an hour here
before you realise it - ideal if you've been traipsing round
the west end, fighting through the hordes of tourists and
Londoners alike on Oxford Street. The database is logically
structured so that you can follow threads such as famous scientists,
sportsmen, politicians, kings and queens etc. You can then
decide which portraits you most want to see, and print out
a personalised gallery plan. Of course a real advantage of
the system is that you can view the entire collection, archives
and all, rather than simply those on the walls. The best part
is that for any print which the gallery owns the copyright,
you can get a FREE A4 b&w printout, or pay for larger/and
or colour prints. A definite must for the artistically inclined.
The National Portrait Gallery has the largest collection
of British portrait art in the world. Interested in "seeing"
Henry VIII or Baroness Thatcher or Lord Olivier? Look no further.
Kids will enjoy the Gallery more if you can help them understand
who some of the figures are. The Gallery is grouped in such
a way that if you know a bit of history the figures can be
made to come to life. If you do not know enough history pick
up the CD sound guide. It will be worth investment.
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