Coram began life as a seaman, rising to the position of merchant captain. He spent ten years farming in America before returning to England in 1703. Seeing the poverty in the East End of London ...

Richard Graves was an English poet and novelist. Born in Gloucestershire, he was the son of an antiquary of the same name. Graves was a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, but lost this position ...

The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize returns for its 17th year, showcasing the work of talented young photographers, gifted amateurs and established professionals in the very best of contemporary ...

John Colborne entered the Army in 1794. He first saw active service in the Dutch Helder campaign of 1799 and took part in an expedition to Egypt two years later. Colborne served in the Peninsular War ...

Lord Chelmsford was appointed commander of British forces in South Africa in 1878. The following year he led the British invasion of Zululand. The first engagement of the campaign was the Zulu rout of ...

Born into slavery around 1743, and known as Toussaint de Bréda on the French Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue, Toussaint L'Ouverture's leadership of the Haitian Revolution has made him an ...

Italian-born Belzoni moved to England in 1803 where he found work for a time as a strongman, actor and conjuror at fairs and theatres around the country. He travelled to Egypt having persuaded Mehmet ...

Fashion entrepreneur and husband of Mary Quant. Plunket Greene and his wife helped to revolutionise the British fashion scene in the 1960s. Together with their friend Archie McNair, Plunket Greene and ...

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 ...

The son of a mason, Kay was apprenticed at the age of thirteen to George Heriot, a barber in Dalkeith. Six years later, he moved to Edinburgh where he continued to work as a barber. In his spare time, ...

This portrait was painted in Paris during a period of crisis in Joyce’s life, when his daughter Lucia was experiencing debilitating mental illness. He was struggling with his last novel, Finnegans ...

Sir William Reynolds-Stephens was a sculptor, decorative artist and painter. Born of British parents, he was educated in Germany and England and then at the Royal Academy Schools in London from 1884 ...