Meet the people who have shaped the nation through the world's largest portrait Collection. While we’
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Discover Serena Brown, the West London documentary portrait photographer shortlisted for this year's Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023.
⭐The opens Thursday 9 November ⭐
📸 me nana fie, March 2022 by Serena Brown © Serena Brown
Born in 1913 was the British actor, Vivien Leigh.
Celebrated for her iconic portrayals of American literature’s most celebrated Southern belles, Leigh’s career started at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1932. That same year, she married, taking her husband's middle name ‘Leigh’ as her stage name. Her first on-screen debut was in the British musical comedy Things Are Looking Up in 1934. Leigh then took to the stage in The Green Sash and soon signed a contract.
During her initial rise to fame, she had an affair with Britain's leading man, Laurence Olivier and in 1938, they travelled together to Hollywood. Here, Leigh was auditioning for the film adaptation of Gone with the Wind. Picked over hundreds of other actors, Leigh did the role proud and won an Academy Award. She married Olivier in 1940, and they then co-starred in That Hamilton Woman. In 1951, she played Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire and won her second Academy Award.
Tell us your favourite Vivien Leigh performance in the comments.
📸 Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone with the Wind' by Unknown photographer, 1939 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Jake Green, shortlisted photographer, offers a behind the scenes insight into his enigmatic portrait of Happy Mondays lead singer Shaun Ryder.
⭐Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023 opens 9 November⭐
📷 Shaun Ryder, May 2023 by Jake Green © Jake Green
Do you want to learn more about digital illustration?
Join us next week for an evening masterclass on how to create bold and colourful graphic portraits on an iPad. Led by digital illustrator Kyam, you will learn how to draw with a digital pen and master the art of creating your own compositions using the beginner-friendly digital drawing and illustration software Sketchbook Pro.
Kyam has recently worked on our free display Citizen UK: Croydon’s Carribean Influencers, and part of this workshop will explore the potential of digital art to recreate and reinvent other art mediums, from watercolour to photography.
All materials will be provided. Suitable for all abilities. Maximum 12 participants. Book your ticket via the link: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/event-root/november/discover-digital-illustration
📆 10 November 2023, 18.00-20.00
🎫 £70 (£56 Members / concessions)
✏️ Marcus by Kyam, 2023 © Kyam
The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize is always a highlight of our year and a must-see for anyone interested in photography. With the winner's announcement next week, here is one of the shortlisted artists Gilliam Trapenberg, discussing his portrait of mother and son, Kisha and LaDarayon.
See all our shortlisted artists via the link:
https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2023/taylor-wessing-photo-portrait-prize-2023/
Who do you think is going to win?
📸 Kisha and LaDarayon from the series Currents by Gilliam Trapenberg, 2023 © Gilliam Trapenberg
📣 David Hockney: Drawing from Life is now open
Alongside works from the Gallery’s five star 2020 show, closed in March 2020 due to COVID, the exhibition also features thirty new portraits, painted from life they depict friends and visitors to the artist’s Normandy studio between 2021 and 2022.
Book now ➡️ https://brnw.ch/21wE5p7
📅 On until 21 January 2024
Supported by White & Case LLP
It’s 📚 To celebrate throughout November we will be sharing celebrated wordsmiths from our Collection. Tell us, who would you like to see?
🎨 William Shakespeare by John Taylor, circa 1610 © National Portrait Gallery, London
You think witches and black cats are scary...do you know what our first director’s Halloweeny habit was?
A clue can be found in George Scharf’s sketchbook from 1871, where he captures his unexpectedly interesting day attending the exhumation of King Richard II in Westminster Abbey.
Head to our TikTok for the full story, link below.
https://www.tiktok.com/
✏️ Sketchbook page by George Scharf, 1871 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Our features stage icon Elisabeth Welch ⭐
Born in New York, Welch made her Broadway debut in 1923 but left America in 1929 to work in Paris. There she met composer and songwriter Cole Porter, later starring in his musical Nymph Errant (1933) in London.
Settling in England, she became one of the great stars of the stage musical and further endeared herself to British audiences in the BBC Radio series Soft Lights and Sweet Music during the 1930s. She appeared in numerous films including Around the Town (1938), Over the Moon (1937) This was Paris (1942) and Fiddlers Three (1944). In her final screen appearance, dressed in gold, she delivered the torch song 'Stormy Weather' in Derek Jarman's adaptation of The Tempest, which has become an iconic moment in her career.
📸 by Humphrey Spender, June 1933 © National Portrait Gallery, London
The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize is one of the most important and anticipated photography competitions in the world and a showcase for both celebrated professionals and talented amateurs.
Shortlisted for this year’s prize, Alexandre Siberman’s photography captures local inhabitants experiencing artificial green spaces in cities. Listen here as Alexandre explains this series and where he caught this intimate black-and-white image of Diena.
The exhibition opens on 9 November 2023 - book your ticket now via the link below.
https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2023/taylor-wessing-photo-portrait-prize-2023/
📸 Diena in the series NATURE by Alexandre Siberman, 2022 © Alexandre Siberman
As we officially bid farewell to British summertime (remember to change your clocks 🕑), we look back to the most spectacular start to the season - the Gallery’s grand reopening. From a building site to a beautiful gallery space, the transformation was stunning.
⭐ Have you visited yet?
⭐Coming soon ⭐ David Hockney: Drawing from Life returns to the Gallery on Thursday 2 November.
Staged for just 20 days before our closure due to Covid in March 2020, the exhibition explores the artist’s work over the last six decades through intimate portraits of five sitters: his mother, Celia Birtwell, Gregory Evans, Maurice Payne and the artist himself. This year’s exhibition also sees the debut of over thirty new portraits, painted in Hockney’s Normandy studio between 2021 and 2022.
Book now ➡️ https://brnw.ch/21wDWVV
Supported by White & Case LLP
✏️ Self-Portrait, 26th Sept, 1983, 1983 by David Hockney. The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art © David Hockney, photograph: Don Ross
Our depicts the internationally renowned opera singer – Sir Willard White.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, White was first inspired by American Jazz he heard on the radio. He studied at the Jamaican School of Music and soon travelled to New York, where he won a scholarship at Julliard.
In May 1971, White made his debut in the Juilliard American Opera production of Hall Overton's opera Huckleberry Finn. His London debut was a few years later with the English National Opera as Seneca in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, having starred with Leona Mitchell that year in the first truly complete recording of Porgy and Bess. He has appeared as a soloist at numerous BBC Proms and performs regularly at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the English National Opera. His repertoire includes bass-baritone roles in operas by Handel, Mozart, Verdi, Shostakovich and Gershwin. He was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit in 2000 and knighted in 2004.
You can see this portrait on display in our gallery of history makers, National Lottery Heritage FundGallery.
🎨 Willard White by Ishbel Myerscough, 2009 © National Portrait Gallery, London
We are taking it back to the 90’s with this iconic picture of Posh and Becks reclining in style on the carpet of a Manchester hotel room floor. Explore more 90’s inspired portraiture in our online Collection with the link below.
https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait-list.php?search=ap&firstRun=true&title=&npgno=&eDate=1990&lDate=2000&medium=&subj=&set=&portraitplace=&searchCatalogue=&submitSearchTerm=Search
Have you seen BECKHAM yet? Tell us in the comments.
Netflix
📸 David and Victoria, Manchester 1998, No.3 (Victoria Beckham; David Beckham) by Juergen Teller, 1998 © Juergen Teller
Returning to the Gallery after three years the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize depicts the very best of contemporary photography. In addition to first, second and third prizes, this year we have also launched a new £8,000 commission.
Included in this year’s shortlist is Carl Francois van der Linde, whose portrait captures Chotulal, a.k.a the Dragon - an Indian professional wrestler from Punjab. Listen to hear Carl Francois discuss his approach to portraiture within communities on the fringes of society.
⭐ The prize winners will be announced on the evening of the 6 November ⭐
Find out more via the link below.
https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2023/taylor-wessing-photo-portrait-prize-2023/
📸 Chotulal upside-down by Carl Francois van der Linde from the series Our Leader, 2023 © Carl Francois van der Linde
Have you spotted The Portrait Pavilion 🍰
We are proud to announce that our new café and pop-up shopping space is opening on 1 November 2023. Originally a ticket kiosk, this disused pavilion is finally getting the attention it deserves, enhancing the vista of Charing Cross Road and extending our presence into the heart of the West End. The independent café will serve speciality coffee, grab-and-go snacks and signature sweet treats, all by the Daisy Green Collection – operators of the Gallery’s Audrey Green and Larry’s Bar hospitality spaces. Launching ahead of the festive season, The Portrait Pavilion will initially sell a selection of the Gallery’s best Christmas cards and gifts.
To celebrate its launch, Daisy Green will also, offer the first 200 visitors a free flat white and a signature lamington cake – you won’t want to miss it!
📸 2023 © Melisa Copola, Daisy Green
Sir Bobby Charlton 🏆 1937 – 2023
Remembered for his impeccable behaviour on and off the field, English footballer Sir Bobby Charlton is best known for his role in England’s FIFA World Cup win in 1966, playing alongside his brother, Jack.
Born in the Northumbrian mining community of Ashington, Charlton joined Manchester United in 1954 and played for the club for almost all of his professional career. During his time at the club, he won multiple league titles, an FA Cup and the European Cup, now known as the UEFA Champions League. In 1958, Charlton survived the Munich air disaster, a fatal crash that killed 8 of his Manchester United teammates and 15 other passengers and crew returning from a European Cup match in Belgrade.
While playing for England, Charlton scored 49 goals in 106 appearances for his country and famously scored for England in all but one of the British Home Championship tournaments he played in. He was awarded the prestigious Ballon d’Or in 1966, crowning him as the best player in the world.
Sir Bobby Charlton retired from Manchester United in 1973 and became a director of the club in 1984. He was knighted in 1994.
🎨 Bobby Charlton by Peter Edwards, 1991© National Portrait Gallery, London
Our is Dr Harold Moody, a physician who fought against racial discrimination and is depicted here in bronze by his younger brother, the celebrated artist Ronald Moody.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Harold migrated to England in 1904 to study medicine at King’s College, London. Although top of his class, he faced harsh racial prejudice, which continued as he sought employment as a physician. This left Harold with no other option but to set up his own medical practice in Peckham. At the time, the NHS did not exist, but Harold would offer free health advice to his local community – making him very popular. This continued during the Second World War and the London Blitz, where Moody would treat those injured. Spurred by his own experiences and those of his community, he founded the League of Coloured People in 1931. The organisation pushed an agenda for equal rights and sought better opportunities and conditions for students and workers from Africa and the West Indies in England.
You can see his portrait on display now in Room 19 on Floor 2.
Harold Moody by Ronald Moody, 1997, based on a work of 1946 © NPG, London
Born in 1917, Joan Fontaine was known for her portrayals of troubled beauties in Hollywood cinema of the 1940’s.
Growing up in Japan, Joan’s father was an attorney and her mother an actor. At a young age, she travelled to California with her sister and mother. Both siblings pursued acting, and in Joan’s cinema debut in No More Ladies (1935), she took on a different surname to separate the two. Joan later settled on Fontaine which was her stepfather’s name. In 1940, Joan starred as the female lead in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca alongside Laurence Olivier as depicted in this portrait. The same year, she also played the lead in Suspicion, a role that led her to be nominated for an Academy Award. Throughout her long career, she appeared in over 40 movies and starred on Broadway and later television.
Tell us in the comments your favourite role.
📸 Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier by Unknown photographer, 1940 © National Portrait Gallery, London
“Since then, at an uncertain hour,
That agony returns:
And till my ghastly tale is told,
This heart within me burns.”
Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in 1772.
🎨 by Peter Vandyke, circa 1795 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Happy Birthday to trade unionist Bill Morris, born in 1938.
Born in Jamaica, Morris moved to England in 1954 and joined the Transport and General Workers Union in 1958, becoming its General Secretary in 1991. An influential leader, he has been active on issues including racial discrimination by employers, minimum wage, access to education, equal opportunities and development of policies and services for women and young members.
In this enigmatic portrait Morris is shown standing outside Transport House in Holborn, the headquarters of the Transport and General Workers Union. His open collar suggests a departure from his previous official position and an informality and humanism in keeping with his personality and tireless work as an advocate and spokesman for workers. The crisp but uncharacteristic blue of the London sky refers to a Caribbean light, evoking a sense of place that is of great importance to the sitter.
📍 Find his portrait on display in Room 28 on Floor 2
🎨 Bill Morris by John Keane, 2005 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Leading Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge is depicted in character as Othello, a role he first played in the UK in 1825, shortly after he moved from New York. He later took on classic roles such as Shylock, Lear, Macbeth, and Richard III, and toured all over Europe, becoming one of the world's highest-paid actors.
⭐Discover our on display in Room 18 on Floor 3
🎨Ira Aldridge after James Northcote, circa 1826 Private Collection; on loan to the National Portrait Gallery, London
Inspired by our new display Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation, we are hosting a full weekend workshop with the artist Shannon Bono.
During this workshop, you will learn how to capture portraits of your own elders. Explore and discuss the portraits of the 10 sitters on display, delving into their fascinating and inspiring back stories. Then, back in the studio, learn from Bono about how to create portraits from source material such as photographs. She will provide technical tuition, explaining how to create a portrait that captures personality and individual biography and provide an insight into her own process; building a relationship with the sitter and choosing a composition that celebrates them and encapsulates their identity.
📆 Windrush 75 Workshop: Living Memories, Painting Portraits of our Elders 28 October - 29 October 2023, 11.00-17.00
⭐ £250 (£200 Members / concessions)
🎨 All materials will be provided. Suitable for all abilities.
Book your place via the link below.
https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/event-root/october/living-memories
🎨 Linda Haye OBE by Shannon Bono © Shannon Bono. Photograph: Royal Collection Trust
Capturing Malorie Blackman, our highlights a talented writer who challenges perceptions of race through her fiction.
Born to Barbadian parents in London, Malorie was discouraged from becoming an English teacher by a careers advisor and instead pursued a career in computing before becoming a writer at the age of twenty-eight. Her first published book was a collection of short stories entitled Not So Stupid! (1990), but she found major success with her first children's novel Hacker (1992). Since then, she has written many books, the best-known of which is the ground-breaking Noughts and Crosses series (2001-2008), which imagines a teenage love story in an alternate dystopia with reverse race relations. Malorie has written over 60 books, many of which have now been adapted for the screen. She was awarded an OBE in 2008 for services to children's literature and from 2013 to 2015, she held the position of Children’s Laureate.
Do you have a favourite? Tell us in the comments.
📸 Malorie Blackman by Maud Sulter, 2001 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Happy Birthday Self Esteem 🎂
Photographed here in style, Rebecca Lucy Taylor is a British musician who goes by the stage name, Self Esteem. Growing up in Rotherham, Rebecca was interested in music and dance from a young age. She started her music career as part of a folk duo called Slow Club. However, Self Esteem came into being in 2015, when she started posting art on Instagram.
Rebecca released her first solo album, Compliments Please, in 2019, and her second, Prioritise Pleasure, came in 2021. Both albums received critical acclaim, with her second being nominated for the Mercury Prize. The first single to come out before the second album was a song called ‘I do this all the time’. Voted as the best song of 2021, the lyrics are direct and written in everyday language, exploring relationships, self-criticism, mental health and female empowerment. Rebecca’s love for musical theatre is apparent through her live performances – she's recently taken on the role of Sally Bowles in the West End musical Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. We can’t wait to see it!
Tell us your favourite Self Esteem song in the comments below.
📸 'Self Esteem' by Karina Lax, 2019; printed 2021 © Karina Lax
Happy Birthday Alex Scott 🎂
Signed by Arsenal at the age of eight, Alex played one season as a striker before moving to Birmingham City for a year. When she returned to Arsenal, she converted to playing right-back and became a key figure in Arsenal's squad, playing in the FA Women’s Premier League, FA Women’s Cup and UEFA Women’s Cup. After playing in America for a few years, Alex came home again to Arsenal, where she stayed for the rest of her professional football career. Alongside playing in both national and international leagues, Alex has also represented England in both the World Cup and the Olympics, making a total of 140 appearances. In 2017, she retired from football and was appointed an MBE.
You will probably recognise Alex from television broadcasting across BBC and Sky Sports. During her football career at Arsenal, she completed a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting at the University of Staffordshire. At the time, she also wrote a weekly women's football column for the Morning Star newspaper.
📸 Alex Scott by Nina Manandhar, 2018 © Nina Manandhar
A portrait to sum up all the feels as Yevonde: Life and Colour comes to an end this weekend...exhibition closes on Sunday 15 October 2023, 18.00.
Telling the story of a woman who gained freedom through photography, this exhibition highlights Yevonde as a revolutionary in the field of colour photography. The exhibition features portraits and still-life works produced by Yevonde over a colourful sixty-year career and draws on the archive of her work acquired by the Gallery in 2021, as well as extensive new research by our teams.
Supported by the CHANEL Culture Fund.
Book your tickets now via the link below.
https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2023/yevonde-life-and-colour/
📸 Dorothy Emily Evelyn (née Whittall), Lady Campbell as Niobe by Yevonde,1935 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Born in 1853 was Lillie Langtry, the celebrated beauty and British actress who toured America and, later in life, managed her very own London theatre.
Known as the Jersey Lily, she was the daughter of William Corbet Le Breton, the Dean of Jersey, and was the only girl in a family of six boys. In 1881, Lillie took to the stage at the Haymarket Theatre. As a ‘society beauty,’ it was initially hard for her to become a successful actress, but as she improved, she was soon celebrated. Her most successful role was as Rosalind in Shakespeare’s As You Like It. After touring in America, Lillie renovated the old Aquarium Theatre in London into the Imperial Theatre, inspired by a Greek temple, and opened it under her own management in 1901.
📸 Lillie Langtry as Lena Despard in 'As in a Looking Glass' by Benjamin Joseph Falk, published by Rotary Photographic Co Ltd, 1887 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Throughout her sixty-year career, Yevonde explored various techniques and trends within the photography sphere, including a foray into solarisation in the 1960’s.
Solarisation was a collaborative discovery between photographers Man Ray and Lee Miller in 1929. Miller switched on the light while they were developing a photograph, which caused the tonal reversal of the image. Also known as the ‘Sabatier’ (or ‘Sabattier’) effect, Yevonde used this process in her work, creating partial or fully tonally reversed images that were quite different from her coloured portraits.
After a year of experimentation with many ‘garbled results’ discarded, Yevonde mounted a studio exhibition in July 1961, which was a success in terms of publicity, although not financially. Yevonde, with characteristic optimism, remembered, ‘Personally, I had enjoyed it all so much, that I was more than satisfied.’
You can see this portrait and more on display in Yevonde: Life and Colour. The exhibition finishes this Sunday 15 October, 18.00.
Plan your visit now via the link: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2023/yevonde-life-and-colour/
📷 Susan Ann Frances Kirkpatrick (née Parselle) by Yevonde, 1960 © Mary Evans Picture Library
Join us this October half term for a big drawing extravaganza!
Explore drawing with the senses through fun, playful activities for all the family. From creating your own tactile drawing to drawing what you hear - touch, smell, look and listen in workshops to tingle the senses. All activities are free and drop in. Capacity is limited, first come first served. When you arrive head to our Family Desk on Floor 0 to see what’s on and pick up one of our fun family activity trails.
📆 Thursday 26 October 2023, 11.00-16.00
Plan your visit with the link: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/event-root/october/family-day-the-big-draw
📸 Photograph taken during a previous Family event at the National Portrait Gallery, London © Frederick Goff
Today’s depicts Sir Lenworth Henry, but you’ll probably know him best as Lenny.
Painted by Morag Caister, this likeness of Lenny won Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year in 2022. It captures comedian and actor sitting in a relaxed pose, gazing ahead in thought with his hands clasped together.
Lenny was talent-spotted on the New Faces television show as a teenager. In the 1980s, he spent three years as a DJ on Radio 1, and from 1984-2003 he had his own series, The Lenny Henry Show, which featured stand-up, spoofs and character sketches. Lenny has toured successfully as a stand-up comedian and was one of the co-founders of Comic Relief. In 2009, he took to the stage and played the lead in Shakespeare's tragedy, Othello.
In recent years, Lenny has been an authoritative campaigner for improved representation in broadcasting and in 2018, he completed a PhD in Media Arts with a thesis entitled Does the Coach Have to be Black?: The Sports film, screenwriting and Diversity. He is currently Chancellor of Birmingham City University.
You can see this portrait of Lenny on display in our gallery of history makers, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Gallery .
🎨 Lenny Henry by Morag Caister, 2022 © National Portrait Gallery, London
“Good writing excites me, and makes life worth living.”
Celebrated playwright and Nobel Prize winner Harold Pinter was in 1930 🖋️
📷 Harold Pinter by Justin Mortimer, 1992 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Our captures the 26 year old English singer songwriter Jorja Smith.
Growing up in the West Midlands, Jorja was inspired to pursue music by her Jamaican father, who was a musician in a neo-soul band. Starting with the piano, Jorja soon started to sing and was awarded a music scholarship from Aldridge School. After posting a video of herself singing online, she was scouted and later moved to London. In 2016, she released her first single Blue Lights, which became an instant hit. Following this, Jorja continued to release music and work with the likes of Drake, Kali Uchis, Bruno Mars and Stormzy. She won the Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist in 2019 and her latest album Falling or Flying was released just last month. This portrait is closely cropped on Jorja’s face and is black and white resulting in a dramatic portrait. Why do you think the photographer has chosen to represent her this way?
You can see this portrait on display in the Weston Wing Gallery alongside other influential female musicians, actors and more.
📸 Jorja Smith by Olivia Rose, 2018 © Olivia Rose
Join us for a special in conversation event to celebrate the publication of Women at Work: 1900 to Now, the National Portrait Gallery's first book to spotlight female professional achievement in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Authors Dr Flavia Frigeri, CHANEL Curator for the Collection at the National Portrait Gallery, and award-winning design historian, Alice Rawsthorn, will be in conversation with renowned writer, Jennifer Higgie. They will discuss the making of the book, as well as its wider themes.
This new publication is currently available for pre-order from our online shop, and features the fascinating and sometimes untold stories of over 100 influential and inspiring women who have paved the way for those working across the fields of art, science, design, literature and activism, amongst others.
📆 Friday 20 October, 19.00-20.00
📍 The Ondaatje Wing Theatre
🎫 £15 (£12 Members / concessions)
Book your place now via the link below.
https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/event-root/october/women-at-work
📸 Book cover of Women at Work: 1900 to Now © National Portrait Gallery, London
It's 📚
Our Collection features the nation's best-loved poets, from Lemn Sissay and Carol Ann Duffy to Elizabeth Barrett Browning and William Wordsworth. Tell us, who would be on your list?
📷Lemn Sissay by Madeleine Waller, 2006 ©️ Madeleine Waller/ NPG
Open until Sunday 15 October 2023 - it’s your last chance to see Yevonde: Life and Colour!
Telling the story of a woman who gained freedom through photography, this exhibition highlights Yevonde as a revolutionary in the field of colour photography. The exhibition features portraits and still-life works produced by Yevonde over a colourful sixty-year career and draws on the archive of her work acquired by the Gallery in 2021, as well as extensive new research by our teams.
Supported by the CHANEL Culture Fund.
📸 Joan Maude by Yevonde, Vivex colour print, 1932 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Meet John Blanke –Trumpeter at the Tudor Royal court, and considered to be the first person of African descent in British history whom we have both a written record and visual image of.
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Discover Serena Brown, the West London documentary portrait photographer shortlisted for this year's Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023. ⭐The #PhotoPrize opens Thursday 9 November ⭐ 📸 me nana fie, March 2022 by Serena Brown © Serena Brown
Jake Green, shortlisted #PhotoPrize photographer, offers a behind the scenes insight into his enigmatic portrait of Happy Mondays lead singer Shaun Ryder. ⭐Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023 opens 9 November⭐ 📷 Shaun Ryder, May 2023 by Jake Green © Jake Green
The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize is always a highlight of our year and a must-see for anyone interested in photography. With the winner's announcement next week, here is one of the shortlisted artists Gilliam Trapenberg, discussing his portrait of mother and son, Kisha and LaDarayon. See all our shortlisted artists via the link: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2023/taylor-wessing-photo-portrait-prize-2023/ Who do you think is going to win? #NationalPortraitGallery #PhotoPrize #ContemporaryPortraiture 📸 Kisha and LaDarayon from the series Currents by Gilliam Trapenberg, 2023 © Gilliam Trapenberg
📣 David Hockney: Drawing from Life is now open Alongside works from the Gallery’s five star 2020 show, closed in March 2020 due to COVID, the exhibition also features thirty new portraits, painted from life they depict friends and visitors to the artist’s Normandy studio between 2021 and 2022. Book now ➡️ https://brnw.ch/21wE5p7 📅 On until 21 January 2024 Supported by White & Case LLP
The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize is one of the most important and anticipated photography competitions in the world and a showcase for both celebrated professionals and talented amateurs. Shortlisted for this year’s prize, Alexandre Siberman’s photography captures local inhabitants experiencing artificial green spaces in cities. Listen here as Alexandre explains this series and where he caught this intimate black-and-white image of Diena. The exhibition opens on 9 November 2023 - book your ticket now via the link below. https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2023/taylor-wessing-photo-portrait-prize-2023/ #NationalPortraitGallery #PhotoPrize #ContemporaryPortraiture 📸 Diena in the series NATURE by Alexandre Siberman, 2022 © Alexandre Siberman
As we officially bid farewell to British summertime (remember to change your clocks 🕑), we look back to the most spectacular start to the season - the Gallery’s grand reopening. From a building site to a beautiful gallery space, the transformation was stunning. ⭐ Have you visited yet?
Returning to the Gallery after three years the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize depicts the very best of contemporary photography. In addition to first, second and third prizes, this year we have also launched a new £8,000 commission. Included in this year’s shortlist is Carl Francois van der Linde, whose portrait captures Chotulal, a.k.a the Dragon - an Indian professional wrestler from Punjab. Listen to hear Carl Francois discuss his approach to portraiture within communities on the fringes of society. ⭐ The prize winners will be announced on the evening of the 6 November ⭐ Find out more via the link below. https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2023/taylor-wessing-photo-portrait-prize-2023/ #NationalPortraitGallery #PhotoPrize #ContemporaryPortraiture 📸 Chotulal upside-down by Carl Francois van der Linde from the series Our Leader, 2023 © Carl Francois van der Linde @carlmeer
Meet John Blanke –Trumpeter at the Tudor Royal court, and considered to be the first person of African descent in British history whom we have both a written record and visual image of.
Discover a gem in our extensive new selection of jewellery 👑 Every piece pays its respects to the jewels, colours, and adornments found within our Collection. You'll discover dazzling designs made from a wide range of materials, to suit a myriad of styles and every budget. Explore the full collection with the link below. https://npgshop.org.uk/collections/jewellery #NationalPortraitGallery #Portraiture #GalleryShop
It’s your last chance to see Creative Connections Southampton 🚢 Bringing together works from the National Portrait Gallery and Southampton City Art Gallery and Museums, this exhibition explores and celebrates people whose stories are linked to Southampton. Taking inspiration from these collections, art students from Cantell School have collaborated with Hampshire-based artist Pete Codling and our Learning and Engagement Team to explore portraiture. The artist has worked with the students using charcoal to capture and portray sitters that represent the city. These portraits are part of the display along with a large-scale drawing by Codling, inspired by the local story of 4,000 child refugees from the Basque country arriving in a steamship, SS Habana, during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. Open until 30 September 2023 - you can find more information via the link in our bio. ⭐ Funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund ⭐ #NationalPortraitGallery #NSSP #InspiringPeopleNPG 🎥 Leah Rustomjee
Join Yevonde: Life and Colour curator Clare Freestone and a collective of women creatives from across fashion, film, art and photography for our Study Day. Consisting of illuminating talks and conversations, it will explore Yevonde’s position as a suffragette sister, astute career woman and creative artist. During the lunch break, there will be an opportunity to see the exhibition in full. Yevonde: Life and Colour features portraits and still-life works produced over a colourful sixty-year career and draws on the archive of her work acquired by the Gallery in 2021, as well as extensive new research by our team. 🗓️ Friday 29 September 2023, 11.00 - 17.00 📍 The Ondaatje Wing Theatre, National Portrait Gallery Places are limited. Book now via the link below 👇 https://my.npg.org.uk/12927/12928 #NationalPortraitGallery #Portraiture #Yevonde #FemaleArtist 📸 Gif illustrating the Vivex process - Princess Krishna by Yevonde, 1937 © National Portrait Gallery, London
We’re entering the final weeks of Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-1964: Eyes of the Storm. Book now before it’s too late ⏰ ⭐ Under 30? Then see #EyesOfTheStorm for just £5, courtesy of Bank of America 📅 on until 1 October ➡️ www.npg.org.uk/PaulMcCartneyEyesofthestorm ⭐Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies
Back by popular demand 🎉 Watch Paul McCartney and Stanley Tucci in conversation. Filmed back in June, this insightful exchange offers a unique insight into the creative practice of a music icon. 🎥 Rent now and enjoy for 72 hours ➡️ https://ow.ly/Uv1E50PL3pW 📅 Available until 1 October
Back by popular demand 🎉 Watch Paul McCartney and Stanley Tucci in conversation. Filmed back in June, this insightful exchange offers a unique insight into the creative practice of a music icon. 🎥 Rent now and enjoy for 72 hours ➡️ https://ow.ly/Uv1E50PL3pW 📅 Available until 1 October
📣 Calling all teachers and students 🎨 We are delighted to announce the launch of our online Schools hub 🎨 With over 150 newly commissioned resources, all linked to the Art & Design and History National Curriculum this state-of-the-art hub explores themes such as identity, empire and migration, whilst connecting students directly with artists from our Collection.
Inspired by the colours found within our #Yevonde Exhibition, these modular adaptable candles are a colourful addition to your home this autumn.
These googly eyed purses and note books are bursting with character and colour, part of our shop's newly expanded kids range, which will help combat back to school blues 🙃
We are delighted to announce the five photographers shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023. ⭐Serena Brown for 'me nana fie' ⭐Jake Green for 'Shaun Ryder' ⭐Carl Francois van der Linde for 'Chotu Lal Upside-down' ⭐Alexandre Silberman for 'Diena' ⭐Gilleam Trapenberg for 'Kisha and LaDarayon, 2023.' Alongside first, second and third, a commission to the value of £8,000 will be awarded. Supported by Taylor Wessing, the chosen photographer will create an artwork that will enter our Collection. In addition, owing to the outstanding quality of submissions, a joint third prize will also be awarded this year. The shortlisted works will be displayed in the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023 at the new National Portrait Gallery from 9 November 2023 until 25 February 2024 ➡️ www.npg.org.uk/photoprize ⭐Supported by Taylor Wessing
It’s been a while since England have been in a world cup final, but today, we are feeling lucky. Come on the #lionesses, you’ve made it this far. Let's bring it home. #NationalPortraitGallery #Portraiture #FIFAWWC #WorldCupFinal #WomensWorldCup 📸 Marjorie Dolman as captain and Dorothy Dolman as centre-half in the Gaiety football team by Bassano Ltd, 1919© National Portrait Gallery, London
Born in Poona, India, Farrukh Dhondy won a scholarship to Cambridge in 1964, and when arriving, he soon changed his course from Science to English. After graduating, he did a master's degree at Leicester University and later returned there to teach. Farrukh Dhondy is he a writer and activist who contributed significantly to Race Today - an anti-racist journal first published in 1973, which centred around black liberation. In 1976, activists including Farrukh Dhondy and Mala Sen worked with local families who, through lack of housing, had been forced to squat. They created the Bengali Housing Action Group (BHAG) and pressured the council to improve housing, which helped establish Brick Lane in East London as a safe area for the Bangladeshi community. You can see the full film in Room 28, alongside other activists and changemakers. #SouthAsianHeritageMonth #NationalPortraitGallery #Portraiture 🎶 Interview and audio captured by @towerhamletsarchives 📸 Farrukh Dhondy by Neil Kenlock, 1973 © Neil Kenlock, purchased as part of Citizin UK: Tower Hamlets.
From storytelling in the galleries to photography workshops and creative hands-on activities, there was lot’s to see and do during our first Family Festival since re-opening. Thank you to everyone that came along ❤
We're excited to share our vibrant retail collection to accompany Yevonde: Life and Colour 🌼 The exhibition is an exploration of the life and career of Yevonde, the pioneering London photographer who spearheaded the use of colour photography in the 1930s and coined the phrase 'be original or die'. Explore the collection here: https://npgshop.org.uk/collections/madame-yevonde-life-and-colour #NationalPortraitGallery #Yevonde
Can you learn to paint in a week? Our Digital Artist in Residence Anthony Comber-Badu gave it a go… ⭐️Featuring award-winning artist and tutor Samira Addo, and curator Haja Fanta. ➡️ Supported by CASS ART 📍 Studio Boardroom, Illife Yard 📽 Production supported by After Party Studios 🎼 Soundtrack by 1o (Nolan Armstrong)
Can you learn to paint in a week? Our Digital Artist in Residence Anthony Comber-Badu gave it a go… ⭐️Featuring award-winning artist and tutor Samira Addo, and curator Haja Fanta. ➡️ Supported by CASS ART 📍 Studio Boardroom, Illife Yard 📽 Production supported by After Party Studios 🎼 Soundtrack by 1o (Nolan Armstrong)
Can you learn to paint in a week? Our Digital Artist in Residence Anthony Comber-Badu gave it a go… ⭐️Featuring award-winning artist and tutor Samira Addo, and curator Haja Fanta. ➡️ Supported by CASS ART 📍 Studio Boardroom, Illife Yard 📽 Production supported by After Party Studios 🎼 Soundtrack by 1o (Nolan Armstrong)
The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize celebrates the very best in international portrait photography. ⭐ 27 October – 18 December 2022 ➡️ Book now ➡️ www.npg.org.uk/photoprize 🎥 Helen Plumb
For his first piece as our Digital Artist in Residence, Anthony Comber-Badu (@azbadu) explores the Gallery’s archive and reflects on the idea of community and spatial equity. ➡️Supported by CASS ART ⭐Production supported by After Party Studios
From talented amateurs to skilled professionals, discover the very best in contemporary photography in this year’s Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. 🎟️Book now: http://npg.org.uk/photoprize ⭐️Under 30s for £4 every weekend 📅27 Oct - 18 Dec
"It gives me a chance to show Sheffield what I'm capable of." Hear from Sheffield Park Academy students as they share their experience of being involved in the Creative Connections exhibition at Sheffield Museums' Millennium Gallery. Participants worked with artist, and past student, Conor Rogers to create a striking bus shelter installation, which sits alongside a display of portraits from the National Portrait Gallery’s and Sheffield’s Collection, celebrating the public figures connected to the city. ⭐ Creative Connections is funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund, and with the generous support of the Palley family. 🎥 Film by Leah Rustomjee
London Museum of Water & Steam
Green Dragon Lane
The Last Tuesday Society & The Viktor Wynd Mu
Mare Street
The Royal Air Force Museum London
Grahame Park Way
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