The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-08 00:00:00

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THE NATIONAL PO.RTRAIT 6,,A1.1.1-IRV,T

The fifth report of the trustees of the National
Portrait Gallery, recently issued, states that three
more have to be added to the list of
42 donations
announced in former reports. The Queen has also
graciously promised a portrait of the late Prince
Consort. The purchases have increased from 80 to
95, The great difficulty which is now encountered
by the trustees, and which is felt mere and more in
proportion as the collection under their charge
extends, arises from the always inadequate and
now utterly deficient means of exhibition. The
trustees in the course of last month athlresF,ed the
following letter to the Board of Treasury :--
"National Portrait Gallery Trust, 29, Great
George-street, Westminster, March 20.
"My Lords,—At a meeting of the trustees of (ho
National Portrait Gallery, held this day, :Earl Stan-
hope in the chair, I was directed to represent in the
strongest terms to her Majesty's Board of Treasury
how utterly inadequate is now the space at their
disposal compared with the pictures which they
have been enabled to obtain. These pictures,
accruing partly by purchase and partly by d9nation,
amount up to this date to 139, as the enclosed cata-
logue will show. To display these pictures for
public exhibition, the trustees have only at their
disposal two apartments of very moderate size,
a very small back room on the same floor, and
the walls of the staircase. They are unable
to place at all the great picture of the House
of Commons, by Halter, which was presented
by the Government in 18.58, and which, of necessity
remains for the present in a committee-room of the
House of Commons. Many of the pictures that are
placed by the trustees are also of necessity placed
in a most unfavourable light ; all are crowded, and
the trustees are wholly at a lose to provide for fresh
accessions. It may be said, with entire truth, that
the complaints which have lately been made of this
institution in the House of Commons and elsewhere
proceed altogether from the want of space, for
which the trustees are not responsible. The trus-
tees, therefore, desire to make an urgent represen-
tation to her Majesty's Government for a more ex-
tended space, that may enable the trustees to dis-
play, with less disadvantage, the very numerous,
and, in great part, very valuable works which this
gallery has acquired.-1 have, &c.,
(Signed) " GEORGE SCHARr,
" Secretary and Keeper.
" To the Lords Commissioners of her
Majesty's Treasury."
It is gratifying to be able to add that, in spite of
these great deficiencies in space and in light, the
number of visitors to the temporary apartments has
steadily increased. A return of these numbers has
been laid before the House of Commons in obedience
to their order dated March 13, 1862. It has been
subsequently printed, and will be found to give
the particulars in full details month by month.
Without recapitulating these details, it may be
sufficient here to state that the number of visitors,
which in 1859 was 5,305, and in 1860, 6,392, rose
in 1861 to 10,907. The trustees have the fullest
confidence that with improved accommodation, and,
as one consequence of it, an increase of open days,
the number of the annual visitors would be further
and very largely augmented.

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