National Portrait Gallery — Attraction in London

I've been visiting the NPG since 1990s and it used to be one of my favourite London galleries where I regularly visited the paid exhibitions.

However on 1 February 2025, two staff members intimidated me at the door to bully me into donating money to enter, despite having already booked and paid for a ticket.

On arrival, I expected a welcome but instead two male staff were very pushy about making a donation right after the bag search. As I was visiting a paid exhibition, it seemed unnecessary. One man said, "it's free to enter but we expect a donation" and the other managed said "tap the white box" and pointed to the donation box.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm a regular and don't donate each time. Also a donation should be voluntary and many people will make this on their exit if they have enjoyed their visit. After this a friendly woman offered me a map, which I declined. I realise that not being white and visiting alone, I looked like a tourist. Therefore it was assumed I would only look at the free stuff, so I should therefore donate but I was going to see the Taylor Wessig Portrait Prize.

I have been visiting the gallery since the 1990s and this was the first time I was aggressively asked to donate. It really annoyed and upset me and took the shine off my visit. I have told many of my friends about this and they said it's very bad practice and poor welcome. They also suggest I was targeted because of my race and assumption that I was a tourist.

Saying goodbye to people and asking them to donate if they've enjoyed the visit is better practice. I won't be bullied into making extra donations when I have bought a ticket.

Since the refurb, the gallery is harder to navigate. The unisex toilets are not good; smelly and dirty with urine on the seat. I preferred the separate women's toilets before. I choose not to use their toilets now as they were too dirty.

It's such a shame the gallery has gone downhill with terrible toilets and aggressive greeters demanding money. I'll go to other galleries...

I’ve been visiting the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery at least once a month for the past 15 years, first as an art history student at university, and then simply as a way to lose myself in the paintings. Over time, these spaces became my sanctuary; places I return to for peace, inspiration, and the occasional special exhibition.

During my most recent visit on April 19, 2025, I took a friend visiting from abroad to the Portrait Gallery, and had one of the most memorable experiences I’ve ever had there. While we were looking at the portrait of Lord Byron, a guide named Serena approached us and offered to share more about the painting. What followed was pure magic.

Serena was incredibly passionate and knowledgeable(not just about Byron, but about every painting in the room and the one adjacent to it). She sat us down on a bench and gave us what felt like a private tour into a world where the portraits came alive. Her storytelling brought warmth, life, and meaning to every brushstroke.

In all my years of visiting the galleries, I’ve never had such a wonderful, moving interaction. The world (and the art world in particular) needs more people like Serena. Her love for what she does, her depth of knowledge, and her contagious enthusiasm stayed with us long after we left.

I studied art history for five years and am a lifelong history enthusiast. I can count on one hand the number of teachers and lecturers I encountered who spoke about art with such genuine passion. Serena is absolutely one of them.

From now on, I’ll be keeping an eye out for her whenever I visit, just to be transported once again into the stories hidden within the paintings.

Thank you so...

Honestly, how did I feel about the National Portrait Gallery, Google? How did I FEEL? How do you describe the emotions of being in one of the MOST ICONIC GALLERIES IN THE WORLD among depictions of some of the MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE of GREAT BRITAIN by the GREATEST ARTISTS HISTORY HAS GIVEN US?

Well, pretty insignificant is one emotion, with overtones of, "What exactly have I done with my life?" So, yes, this gallery provokes uncomfortable philosophical questions about how little I've achieved compared to the heroes and bastards who have shaped history and were looking down at me judgementally from the walls. Sort of like dinner with my Mother.

Perhaps I can add some small appreciation for the scope of what must be required to curate and display this centerpiece to the cultural record, and how much work has gone into the carefully, intelligently balanced, thorough and sometimes strongly critical historical context that provides deep insight into those who are represented here, warts and all.

(Oswald Mosley? Yes, he's here. And ugh.)

If you are unchanged after walking the NPG's halls and experiencing the lives of those therein, as you stare at them and they at you, into your very soul, then take a stroll around the gift shop. It has some wonderful knickknacks. At least your purchase of an NPG-branded eraser will help support the gallery for those of us with a passing appreciation of the importance of portraiture. I'm sure there's a Hard Rock Cafe somewhere around that is...