Copies have had an important role in the history of western painting. They have been made for the purposes of historical education, as a means of training in a medium, as a method of studying styles and techniques, and in emulation and homage. This article considers a forgotten episode in the history of the National Gallery, London, to which in the 1880s three sets of copies were donated. It is highly unusual for acknowledged copies to be accepted into the national collection. Copies after Velázquez figured prominently in one miscellaneous set and another set was devoted to the artist. The interest of artists, historians, collectors, and the public in Velázquez and in other Spanish artists was growing rapidly in the period. As the holdings of authentic Spanish works by the National Gallery did not keep pace with this growth, the copies were acceptable as a substitute. Two Hispanophile trustees of the Gallery were influential in securing the set of copies after Velázquez. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]