The National Portrait Gallery was the first of its kind in the world, established by eminent Victorians, such as Thomas Carlyle, to provide likenesses of the great individuals that influence and drive history (one of his pet theories). Of course in 150 years the notion of what it means to be a great Briton has changed somewhat as we live in an age of celebrity and even instant celebrity. Quite what Carlyle would have made of the artworks of David Beckham and David Starkey, we can only speculate. I suspect there will be iamgery of Jade Goody soon?

However, the truth is the gallery needs to have its pulse on contemporary society rather than become a static picture gallery of the self-appointed good and the great that increasingly most people do not connect with. The gallery understands this and ccordingly its special exhibition programme is well thought through and lively.

The gallery is not a 'pure' art gallery in the sense that the National Gallery around the corner is, but rather a place where visitors can learn about British society over the last few centuries through the medium of portraiture. There is as much contextual social history in this gallery as there is art (some art snobs will still say that the portraiture in the collections is not the 'finest' art in any sense).

It is also a place to contemplate identity, particularly British identity, and so the NPG provides a more focussed experience than the international art around the corner at the National Gallery.

Visit if you want some visual stimulus, some history and some critique of contemporary society. Watch the programme as London builds to the Olympics, it will be unusual and inclusive, pushing boundaries of whose image should be retained by the nation for future generations.