The National Gallery is a non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), whose prime sponsor is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) a department of the United Kingdom government. Established in 1824, the National Gallery now operates under the Museums and Galleries Act 1992. It is responsible for the national collection of paintings in the western European tradition from the 13th to the early 20th centuries. The 1992 Act provides that the National Gallery shall maintain a collection of works of art, principally consisting of pictures, of established merit or significance, and documents relating to those works, and shall:1) Care for , preserve and add to the works of art and the documents in its collection 2) Secure that the works of art are exhibited to the public 3) Secure that the works of art and the documents are available to persons seeking to inspect or study them in connection with study or research and 4) Generally promote the public’s enjoyment and understanding of painting and other fine art both by means of the National Gallery Board’s collection and by such other means as the National Gallery Board considers appropriate.