The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The main collection consists of works by old masters from the Italian Renaissance period, Dutch and Flemish Baroque, French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist, and British art. The National Gallery is open to the public free of charge, and it is visited by millions of people each year.
The gallery has a number of temporary exhibitions throughout the year, which feature works from its collection as well as works from other museums and galleries. The gallery also hosts lectures, talks, and art classes. The National Gallery also houses a library, which contains books and manuscripts about art and art history. The library is open to researchers and members of the public by appointment. The library also has a digital archive, which is a collection of digital images of the works in the National Gallery's collection. The National Gallery also has a conservation department, which is responsible for preserving and restoring the works in the collection.