A portrait of cultural diversity

There's no shortage of ambition in this show - but it's also a curious one. Divided into nine sections, each is devoted to the story of a foreign visitor to Britain from a colonised continent.

Though they occasionally make pitiful reading, their histories are largely presented as celebrated instances of Britain's culturally diverse past.

One of the most prominent displays is given to the Maharaja Dalip Singh, the last Sikh ruler of the Punjab. Having negotiated his abdication, he became a favourite of Queen Victoria. His flattering 1854 portrait, by court painter Franz Winterhalter, adds a good few centimetres to his height.

Elsewhere, William Ansah Sessarakoo cuts a noble figure in Gabriel Mathais's 1749 portrait. The son of a West African slave trader, he was tricked into slavery while touring Europe but was rescued and in London was feted as a prince.

Compare this to the small section devoted to the story of Sara Baartman, known as The Hottentot Venus. In 1810, she was brought from South Africa to London, where she became a sideshow attraction. Coarse caricatures were made of her and her generously proportioned backside.

Though at times fascinating, so eager is this exhibition to 'celebrate diversity' that it forgets that often it is class and status, not just ethnicity, that ensures the material value of a life.

Until Jun 17, National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place WC2, daily 10am to 5.50pm (Thu and Fri to 8.50pm), free. Tel: 020 7306 0055. www.npg.org.uk Tube: Charing Cross

Between Worlds: Voyagers To Britain 1700-1850
National Portrait Gallery
St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE