 Later additions to the west came more steadily but maintained the coherence of the building by mirroring Barry 's cross @-@ axis plan to the east . The use of dark marble for doorcases was also continued , giving the extensions a degree of internal consistency with the older rooms . The classical style was still in use at the National Gallery in 1929 , when a Beaux @-@ Arts style gallery was built , funded by the art dealer and Trustee Lord Duveen . However , it was not long before the 20th @-@ century reaction against Victorian attitudes became manifest at the Gallery . From 1928 to 1952 the landing floors of Taylor 's entrance hall were relaid with a new series of mosaics by Boris Anrep , who was friendly with the Bloomsbury Group . These mosaics can be read as a satire on 19th @-@ century conventions for the decoration of public buildings , as typified by the Albert Memorial 's Frieze of Parnassus . The central mosaic depicting The Awakening of the Muses includes portraits of Virginia Woolf and Greta Garbo , subverting the high moral tone of its Victorian forebears . In place of Christianity 's seven virtues , Anrep offered his own set of Modern Virtues , including " Humour " and " Open Mind " ; the allegorical figures are again portraits of his contemporaries , including Winston Churchill , Bertrand Russell and T. S. Eliot . 
