The National Portrait Gallery was founded with the aim to promote understanding of British history through portraits, both painted and photographed. The collection is a document in itself, although the single portrait and photographs are not necessarily documentary by nature. The museum is very much worth a visit, as is the bookshop. Each year the museum awards the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, for which any photographer can send in work. Portraits from a documentary series are taken into consideration as well.

Sandy Nairne is NPG's director.