Why is the National Portrait Gallery’s collection so poor?

The recent announcement that the National Portrait Gallery has purchased two works by Sonia Boyce and Hew Locke for its collection came as something of a shock. The surprise? The art was actually good. Boyce’s quarterised collage ‘From Someone Else’s Fear Fantasy (A Case Of Mistaken Identity? Well This Is No Bed Of Roses) To Metamorphosis’ (1987), reminiscent of an enlarged and doodled upon set of passport photographs is a complex work of art made better the more attention you give it; Locke’s maximalist approach with the bust ‘Souvenir 17 (Albert Edward, Prince of Wales)’ (2024) may not be to everyone’s taste, but his sculpture is full of humour and pathos. Both artists are serious and rightly lauded, and though British audiences aren’t exactly bereft of opportunities to see what they get up to – well represented in the Tate and other public collections as they are – this may be a sign of optimism for the NPG under the new leadership of Victoria Siddall.

Before you all go rushing to Trafalgar Square however, be warned that the majority of the stuff that currently fills the museum is still complete dross. Previous missives from the press office, since the institution reopened after a refurbishment in 2023, have trumpeted a loan of a grimly kitsch portrait of Sam Smith, borrowed from the singer himself (imagine the ego behind hanging a scantily clad portrait of yourself dressed as an angel in your home); a sixth-form daub of civil-rights campaigner Peter Tatchell (at least the sitter this time is of some historic merit); and a partnership with Snapchat soliciting selfies. It seems extraordinary that the government forks out more than £10 million a year for this. To put it into perspective, since 2010, local councils have been forced to cut their library and culture spend by half and the British Council, which stages exhibitions globally and is vital for the country’s soft power, may have to sell off much of its vastly superior collection to service a debt to the government.

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The National Portrait Gallery’s quality control came under scrutiny recently after it staged – under the leadership of Nicholas Cullinan, now director of the British Museum – an exhibition of work by photographer Zoë Law.