National Portrait Gallery

About

Pushing open the door, light from the ceiling blends into the white walls beneath quiet lighting. Faces from the past slowly seep into view, and the gazes of the figures in the portraits seem to follow visitors. For those who know his name, William Shakespeare's Chandos portrait feels like hearing a voice flowing through the passage of time. The self-portraits of Hogarth and Reynolds leave behind traces of a hand that once passed over them, their gestures still seeming to cut through the air. Shadows reflected in the glass-covered exhibition space continue on quietly, as if tracing the movements of people long gone.