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This book introduces the reader to the key people who have shaped the history of Britain, its culture and identity, by exploring essential highlights from the National Portrait Gallery’s unrivalled ...

Join Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2024 judge, and leading portrait photographer Pogus Caesar, for a special one-off photography masterclass ...

Daniel Defoe was a novelist, pamphleteer and journalist who gained enduring fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe (1719). Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest practitioners of the novel who ...

One of the central figures at the start of the English Revolution. He entered Parliament as an MP in 1621, eight years before Charles I dissolved Parliament. Ship Money was a tax sometimes levied on ...

Mary Moser trained with her father George Michael Moser, a Swiss engraver, medallist and a leading figure at the St Martin's Lane Academy, as well as the first keeper of the Royal Academy. His ...

Booking required for school groups only. Please see the School visits page. The Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award makes a welcome return to the National Portrait Gallery for 2024. The prestigious ...

An online resource, researched and written by Jacob Simon, 1st edition 2009, 2nd edition 2015, now selectively updated twice yearly. Contributions are welcome, to Jacob Simon at [email protected] ...

John Gay was a poet and dramatist, best remembered for his hugely successful dramatic satire The Beggar's Opera (1727). Along with his friend Alexander Pope (1688-1744), Gay was a member of the ...

Harold reigned following the death of his brother-in- law Edward 'the confessor'. He was defeated at the battle of Hastings in 1066 which marked the end of Anglo-saxon rule.

Eleanor of Castile was the first queen consort of King Edward I. She was the daughter of King Ferdinand III of Castile and his wife, Joan of Ponthieu. In 1254 Eleanor was married to Lord Edward, son ...

This early self-portrait was drawn with the aid of a mirror, as indicated by the reversed buttoning of his coat. It was probably produced at about the time that Constable entered the Royal Academy ...