Sebastiano del Piombo, 'The Raising of Lazarus', about 1517-19. It has the catalogue number NG1, and was the first painting to enter the collection. London, The National Gallery.

The Growth of the Collection: The Angerstein and Beaumont Bequests

In April 1824 the House of Commons voted £57,000 for the purchase of the thirty-eight pictures of the banker John Julius Angerstein (1735 - 1823). The purchase formed the nucleus of the national collection. Initially, the pictures were displayed at Angerstein's house in Pall Mall.

Angerstein's collection consisted of Italian works, including a large altarpiece by Sebastiano del Piombo 'The Raising of Lazarus', and fine examples of the Dutch, Flemish and English Schools.

In 1823 the landscape painter and art collector, Sir George Beaumont (1753 - 1827), promised his collection of pictures to the nation, on the condition that suitable accommodation could be provided for their display and conservation.

The gift of the pictures was made in 1826. They went on display alongside Angerstein's pictures in Pall Mall until the whole collection was moved to Trafalgar Square in 1838.

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