National Portrait Gallery

Happy Birthday to our Patron HRH The Princess of Wales.

Did you know The Princess’s first solo public engagement was the opening of our 2012 exhibition Lucian Freud Portraits? Later, her keen interest in portraiture and photography saw her collaborate with the Gallery on our 2018 exhibition Victorian Giants: The Birth Of Art Photography. Most recently, pictured here with our Director Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, The Princess opened the new National Portrait Gallery in June 2023, after our major refurbishment.

⭐ Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to the arts, early years development, and mental health causes, we wish you a very happy birthday 🎊

📷 David Parry

in 1947, the British singer-songwriter David Bowie was born.

With a prolific career spanning over six decades, Bowie released 26 studio albums and, with each one, presented us with a new persona.

Found on display in room 28, this portrait of Bowie highlights just that, with each abstract stroke presenting the artist's attempt to capture who he really was. Bowie and Stephen Finer first met in 1994 in a London gallery, after which the two got a coffee, and this portrait was planned.

In Brian Hiatt’s book, A Portrait of Bowie, he describes the abstract approach: ‘Bowie’s face splays kaleidoscopically outward, as if caught between phases, as if he’s the Sixties folkie, the Seventies glam alien, the clean-cut Eighties hitmaker and more, all at once’.

Comment below with your favourite David Bowie era.

🎨 David Bowie by Stephen Finer, oil on canvas, 1994 © Stephen Finer / National Portrait Gallery, London .stephenfiner

Have you visited the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023? Why not vote in our People’s Pick to be in with a chance of winning a meal for two at The Portrait Restaurant by Richard Corrigan.

Pick your favourite portrait today ➡️ https://brnw.ch/21wFS8k

⭐ Supported by Taylor Wessing

📷 The Wrestlers by Prarthna Singh from the series Champion © Prarthna Singh

Happy Birthday !

Gracing our television screens and cookbook shelves since the early 2000s is the British journalist, chef and broadcaster Nigella Lawson.

Born in 1960, Lawson grew up in London and graduated from Oxford University with a Medieval and Modern Language degree. She started her literary career as an editor at Quartet Books (1982-4) before working on the Sunday Times Arts and Review Section. In 1986, she became a Restaurant columnist for The Spectator and, in 1996, a food writer for Vogue. Her first published cookbook How to Eat came out in 1998 and attracted huge attention. Lawson continued to write, releasing books that covered baking, hosting and weeknight meals when time is short.

Alongside the books, Lawson also hosted her own cookery show on Channel 4; she later worked with the Food Network, BBC and ITV. Throughout her career, she has been recognised with multiple awards, including the Author of the Year (2000), Gold Ladle Best Food and/or Drink Television Show (2007) and even a BAFTA nomination for her pronunciation of Mee-cr-wah-vay (2021).

📸 Nigella Lawson by Tom Miller, 2000 © Tom Miller

If your New Year’s resolution is all about creativity, why not try one of our practical weekend workshops...

Coming up at the end of January is our Painting Workshop: Portraits of our Elders, which is inspired by our current free display, Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation. Join exhibition portraitist Shannon Bono as you learn how to paint portraits and tell your sitter’s story.

The workshop will start with an exploration and discussion about the portraits within this display, including the one above depicting Linda Haye OBE. Who was a magistrate and influential figure in the Police Complaints Commission.

Back in the studio, Bono will provide technical tuition, explaining how to paint 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. Further details are listed below.

Book your place now via the link below.

https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/event-root/october/living-memories

📆 27 January - 28 January 2024, 11.00-17.00

📍 The Law Photography Studio

🎫 £250 (£200 Members / concessions)

🖌️ All materials will be provided.



🎨 Linda Haye OBE © Shannon Bono. Photograph: Royal Collection Trust

Our theme for January will focus on the portraits featured in this year's Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize exhibition. Starting with this year’s first prize winner, Alexandre Silberman and his portrait Diena.

This work belongs to the series titled NATURE, where Silberman explores the hybrid reality of constructed green spaces within the urban environment. Captured in La Courneuve Park in Paris, Diena sits peacefully listening to music.

The judges felt this portrait encompassed a compelling blend of the traditional and the contemporary in portraiture. For example, the traditional is apparent in its visual similarities to depictions of a Madonna, while the monochrome palette lends a timeless quality to the work. However, details within the image, such as the sitter’s nose ring and headphones, feel modern and bring the portrait firmly back into the present.

Silberman talks about the experience of shooting Diena, mentioning his progression to cropping the frame and the result this had on the lawn, which is ‘no longer what she is sitting on, but the very pattern of her outfit.’

You can see this portrait and more in the exhibition open until 25 February.

📸 Diena, July 2022 from the series NATURE by Alexandre Silberman © Alexandre Silberman

What are you hoping 2024 will bring? Show us with emojis ❤️🎶🤣

Here’s to the New Year, let’s make it a good one!

Depicted in red and blue lights is the British music producer Mike Leander and his wife Penny Carter. Leander was well known for working with many of our favourite swinging sixties musicians including The Beatles, Cliff Richard, the Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, Shirley Bassey, Lulu and many many more.

What songs do you have on your New Year’s playlist? Share your favourites with us in the comments 🥂



📸 Mike Leander by David Wedgbury, 1965 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Born in 1893 was the writer and pacifist, Vera Brittain.

Growing up, Brittain recalls that “as soon as I could hold a pen, I started to write, and before that, I told stories”. From a young age, she did just that. Often demonstrated feminist believes with her novels centred around independent and heroic female figures.

In 1914, Brittain was offered a scholarship to attend a women’s college in Oxford to study English Literature. The same year, World War One started, and alongside her partner, and brother (who both later died), she also put herself forward for service.

From 1915 to 1917, Brittain served as a Voluntary Aid Detachment (V.A.D.) nurse. Throughout this experience, she kept a diary, and this became part of her first autobiography, Chronicle of Youth: The War Diary, 1913–1917. Brittain also used her diary to inform her 1933 novel Testament of Youth. The award-winning novel was unlike any other memoir at the time because it presented a woman's experience of the war.

Brittain continued to write into her later life, joining the Peace Pledge Union in 1937 and campaigning as a pacifist during the Second World War.

You can see this portrait on display in Room 25 on Floor 2 of our Gallery.



📸 Vera Brittain by Howard Coster, 1936 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Happy Birthday to Dame Maggie Smith 🎊

From Shakespeare to Harry Potter, the Oscar winner's performances continue to dazzle audiences worldwide. Tell us, what's your favourite?

🎨 Maggie Smith by James Lloyd, 2012 © National Portrait Gallery, London

A reminder that a group portrait doesn’t have to be a group of people...today’s features Deborah Vivien Cavendish and her chickens. ⁠

Born in 1920 to an aristocratic family Cavendish went on to marry the Duke of Devonshire and took on the responsibility of running Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. Hosting extravagant parties by night, Cavendish spent her day running a farm for local school children and establishing a shop. These ventures encouraged her to write, and she started with a charming and informative series about the house's history, including ‘Counting my Chickens and Other Home Thoughts’ (2001). ⁠ ⁠



📸 Deborah Vivien Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire by Harry Borden, 2003 © Harry Borden

Today’s couldn’t be more festive.

With presents wrapped, tree decorated and turkey ready, this is what we are envisioning for tomorrow 💭

Can you name which Girls Aloud album this special Christmas cover was used for? Tell us in the comments below.



📸 Girls Aloud by Sean McMenomy, 2005 © Sean McMenomy

We all know that the Victorians loved Christmas but not as much as their Queen 🎄

Our captures Queen Victoria and her two grandchildren dressed in their best festive frocks.

Victoria succeeded to the throne shortly after her eighteenth birthday in July 1837. She was the daughter of the Duke of Kent, who was the fourth son of George III, and her reign was the second longest in British history. She held great influence over the foreign and domestic policies of the governments she oversaw, and she adored Christmas. she sent the first Christmas card in 1843?

Tell us in the comments your favourite Christmas tradition.

📸 Prince Arthur of Connaught; Queen Victoria; Margaret, Crown Princess of Sweden by Alexander Bassano, 1885 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Our features Aina (Sarah Forbes Bonetta, later Davies), an accomplished linguist, pianist and Goddaughter of Queen Victoria, with her husband merchant and philanthropist James Pinson Labulo Davies. The couple married in 1862 at St Nicholas’s Church in Brighton, this photograph is one of several that were taken to mark their marriage.

Now best known as Sarah Forbes Bonetta, Aina lived a life of extraordinary contrasts. Her story is one of displacement and reveals how she was fetishized in both Africa and England. Born in modern-day south-west Nigeria, Aina was about five years old when she was captured by soldiers of King Ghezo of Dahomey, a central figure in the transatlantic slave trade. She was discharged by the King to Captain Frederick Forbes, who was sent to west Africa to persuade the King to abandon slavery. He bargained to save the child, convincing the King to send her as a 'gift' to Queen Victoria. Before setting sail for England on board HMS Bonetta, Forbes had Aina baptised Sarah Forbes Bonetta. This stripped her of her original name 'Aina' and symbolically, of her west-African identity. The Queen, impressed by the young girl's intelligence and dignity, became her protector, funding her education and providing for her welfare. She became one of the Queen’s favourites and by her late teens, had entered elite society. She was highly regarded in the royal household, appearing at many social events including the wedding of Princess Victoria, the Queen's eldest daughter. It was at one such event that she met her husband Sierra Leonian merchant James Pinson Labulo Davies.

⭐ Find the portrait on display in Room 23 on Floor 2

by Camille Silvy, 15 September 1862 © National Portrait Gallery, London

It’s party season, and a group portrait on the dancefloor is a must.

Our captures Sir Frederick Ashton (1904-1988), Founder-choreographer and Director of the Royal Ballet. As Ashton lends a hand to the leading lady in this scene, the other dancers sure do strike a pose.

Ashton created his first ballet A Tragedy of Fashion in 1926. Choreographing several pieces for the Vic-Wells Ballet he joined the company in 1935. As resident choreographer, he worked with the young Margot Fonteyn, who became his muse. Among his greatest ballets are Symphonic Variations (1946), La Fille mal gardée (1960), and The Dream (1964). Knighted in 1962, he became director of the company the following year. In 1970, he was made a Companion of Honour and awarded the Order of Merit in 1977. His later ballets include Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan (1979, created for Lynn Seymour) and Rhapsody (1980).

📸 Sir Frederick Ashton by Edward Malindine, for Daily Herald, 2 December 1936 © Mirrorpix ()

Katherine of Aragon was born in 1485.

Arguably, Henry VIII’s first and most devoted Queen, Aragon was the youngest daughter of a powerful Spanish family. She came to England in 1501 aged fifteen, and married Henry’s brother Arthur, Prince of Wales. Sadly, only a few months after their marriage, Arthur died, and in 1509, she married Arthur's younger brother, Henry VIII.

Together, they had five children, with only one of their daughters, Princess Mary, later Mary I of England, surviving. Katherine died in 1536, firm in her refusal to relinquish her title as queen of England, despite Henry VIII's annulment of their union and remarriage to Anne Boleyn in 1533.

Technical analysis has revealed that this portrait is not contemporary with the sitter and instead dates from the early eighteenth century, demonstrating a market for Tudor portraits during this period.



🎨 Katherine of Aragon by Unknown artist, early 18th century © National Portrait Gallery, London

that this is the only surviving group portrait of the three famous novelist sisters Anne, Emily and Charlotte Brontë? And it was painted by their brother Patrick Branwell Brontë?

⭐Find it on display in Room 21 on Floor 2

🎨 circa 1834 © NPG, London

that you can spend New Year's Eve at the National Portrait Gallery?

We have two dining and drinking options available. You can experience the
extraordinary at The Portrait Restaurant by Richard Corrigan, where they will be
serving a special evening menu accompanied by panoramic views of London's fireworks, a live band performance and Champagne at the bells.

If it's a party you're looking for, head to Larry’s & Audrey Green for a two-floored
bash with Champagne on arrival (and midnight!), lavish bar snacks, live jazz and dancing till late. The party will end at 1.30 am. Tickets are required.

Book your New Years with us via the link below…
https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/event-root/december/new-years-eve



📷 Hammond & Griffiths Firelight Study (Joan Mather, later Baroness Shawcross) by Yevonde, 1936 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Born in 1946 is the actor, singer and fashion icon – Jane Birkin.

Growing up in London, Birkin first appeared on the screen in Michelangelo Antonioni's film Blow Up (1966). Around the same time, she married and quickly divorced the composer, John Barry.

In 1968, Birkin auditioned for the lead female role in the French film Slogan (1969), and although she didn’t speak the language, she got the part. It was on set that Birkin met Serge Gainsbourg, whom she later married. After filming, Birkin relocated to France permanently and the couple became famous for their music collaborations, including their recording of Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus (1969) which was originally banned by the BBC because of its erotic nature.

Emerging in the swinging sixties, Birkin’s style is the epitome of French girl chic with her signature look including a simple white t-shirt, jeans and a basket bag, which has now been coined as a ‘Birkin basket’.

Featured in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in June 2001, Birkin was Awarded an OBE for her services to acting and to Anglo-French cultural relations.

📸 Jane Birkin by Eric Swayne, 1965 © Estate of

Known for his experimentation, David Hockney: Drawing from Life includes pen, paint and photography - with the latter used in collages that expand past a single perspective.

Depicted here is Hockney’s widowed mother, Laura, who always supported her son’s desire to be an artist and remained a loyal and patient model throughout her life. In this portrait, she is captured leaning against a grave outside Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire, where Hockney is from. As the artist reflects on mortality, similarities can be made with the same melancholy settings that captured the imagination of Romantic artists such as J.M.W. Turner.

With her contemplative face at its centre, the composition opens out to reveal the rain-drenched headstones and ruined abbey beyond. Layering multiple photographs and perspectives of the same sitter scene, Hockney creates an interesting portrait in time that captures the relationship between mother and son. Like a signature, the artist’s leather brogues in the foreground of the picture plane mark both his physical and emotional presence and connection to the sitter.

⭐ Supported by White & Case ⭐



📸 My Mother, Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire, Nov. 1982 by David Hockney. Chromogenic print photocollage. Collection of the artist © David Hockney

In our , we can see the children of Charles I posing for a family portrait. Just imagine the challenge of getting all five children under the age of seven to stand still!

From left to right, we have Princess Mary, Prince James, Prince Charles, Princess Elizabeth, and Princess Anne, who is being held by her sister and was only a few months old at the time.

The future Charles II is positioned in the middle of the composition, and he is resting his hand on the head of a large mastiff. The breed of dog depicted here had been used as a guard dog since Roman times and was often seen as a protector for the royal children during times of civil unrest. However, the placement of the young Prince's hand suggests that he is able to control this powerful animal and, by extension, rule his country.

This portrait, along with Anthony van Dyck's earlier painting of the three eldest children, was very popular, and it was copied many times. Van Dyck's relatively relaxed depiction of the royal children contrasted with the stiff, formal portraits of previous generations.

🎨 Five Children of King Charles I after Sir Anthony van Dyck, 17th century, based on a work of 1637 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Huddled together in harmony, our captures a group of young carol singers painted by Louisa Anne Beresford.

Found in one of many sketchbooks in our archives that Beresford completed, this delicate and small group portrait measures around 8x15cm. Drawn in pencil and painted with watercolours, the materials are evidence of the spontaneous nature of this portrait.

Beresford’s subject matter throughout her sketchbooks included many of her everyday interactions with family, friends and children. With a strong interest in community welfare, she spent a lot of time supporting building programmes for the wider community, such as a new school. Her greatest artistic achievement was a life-sized mural depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments on the school walls. The models for this large-scale work included local children and adults, some of whom can be seen in this group portrait.

🖌️ Choir singing on Christmas Day by Louisa Anne Beresford, 25 December 1887 © National Portrait Gallery, London

We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Benjamin Zephaniah.

One of his generation's most celebrated poets and activists, Zephaniah's astute, wise and often witty observations encouraged his readers to confront society’s most pressing political and social injustices.

We were fortunate enough to work with the pioneering writer in 2006, when he curated the exhibition 'Benjamin's Britain' in collaboration with the NPG at Manchester Art Gallery, and again in 2013 on 'Picture the Poet', a touring exhibition, created in partnership with Apples & Snakes and The National Literacy Trust.

Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah grew up in Jamaica and in Handsworth, England. As a reggae DJ in Handsworth, he carved a niche for himself, standing apart from his contemporaries with their chants about Jamaican life. Instead, he chose to use Britain as his main point of reference and the influence of Jamaican music and poetry as a springboard for his creativity. At 22, he moved from Birmingham to London and published his first book, 'Pen Rhythm'. Over the next four decades Zephaniah went on to work in television and radio, author many books of poetry, stories for adults, teens and children, non-fiction, as well as several plays. He leaves an extraordinary legacy.

📸 Benjamin Zephaniah by Pogus Caesar, 1986 © Pogus Caesar/ OOM Gallery Archive. All Rights Reserved. DACS/ Artimage

'For me to grow, I have to help other people.'

Our features the British grime artist known as Stormzy and his mother, Abigail, who stands proudly by his side.

Born Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. in Croydon, Stormzy began rapping aged eleven and gained attention in the underground music scene. His debut EP Dreamers Disease, was self-released in 2014. It became the first freestyle to reach the charts and earned him the Best Grime Act at the MOBO awards in both 2014 and again in 2015. His album Gang Signs & Prayer entered the UK album charts at No.1 in March 2017 and won Best Album at the Brit Awards. His second album, Heavy Is the Head, was released in 2019 and his third album, This Is What I Mean, in 2022.

Stormzy is committed to helping others. He has funded scholarships for Black students to attend Cambridge University, launched Merky Books to help young writers get published, and most recently announced a partnership with football clubs to increase the representation of Black and mixed-Black British people in the industry by providing long-term, paid professional placements at the brands involved in the initiative.

You can see this portrait in person now in the National Lottery Heritage Fund History Maker's Gallery on our Ground floor.



📸 Abigail Owuo; Stormzy by Olivia Rose, 2016 © Olivia Rose

Christina Rossetti was a Victorian poet who came from a very creative family.

Born in 1830, Rossetti was one of four children whose father was the famous Italian poet, Gabriele Rossetti. Her siblings included Maria, who became an author, Dante Gabriel, a painter and William, an art and literary critic.

Portrayed here in chalk by her brother, Rossetti stands by her mother's side. She appears strong-willed and unhindered by her position as a model. Best known for her lyrical and passionate approach to poetry, Rossetti kept it simple and covered religious subject matter in poetry for children, some of her best-known works include 'Goblin Market' and 'Other Poems' (1862), and 'The Prince's Progress’, (1866).

✏️Christina Rossetti; Frances Mary Lavinia Rossetti by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1877 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Join us in the Gallery this Thursday lunchtime for This is not America: why black lives in Britain matter.

In this lecture, the author Tomiwa Owolade will introduce his recent book This is Not America: Why Black Lives in Britain Matter Owolade and examines how, across the west, racial injustice has become one of the most divisive issues of our age. This is Not America argues that too much of the conversation around race in Britain today is viewed through the prism of American ideas. Owolade provides a bold new framework for understanding race in Britain today while also, referencing historical and contemporary events represented in the Gallery’s Collection.

📆 7 December 2023, 13.00-14.00

📍 The Ondaatje Wing Theatre

🎫 Onsite £10 (Member prices and other concessions available)

Book your ticket via the link below.

https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/event-root/december/this-is-not-america

📕 Cover design by Jodi Hunt. Image by Nico Froehlich.

In December 1938, Sir Nicholas Winton travelled to Czechoslovakia. There he found families fleeing N**i persecution living in desperate conditions. Shocked by the situation and alarmed by the rising threat of N**i invasion Winton knew something had to be done. In the following months, he organised the Czech kindertransport mission, rescuing and ensuring the safe passage of 669 children to the United Kingdom.

To celebrate the release of ONE LIFE, which tells Winton’s remarkable story, we have teamed up with Warner Bros. Pictures to spotlight, in a digital exhibition, new portraits by Simon Hill of eleven people who, as children, travelled on the Czech Kindertransport. Along with the other children rescued, they are affectionately known as ‘Nicky’s children’. Despite everything they were forced to leave behind, they have gone on to lead full lives, enriching the UK in the fields of education, politics, medicine and the arts.

📅 Discover the Digital exhibition at www.npg.org.uk from 12 December

📸Sir Nicholas George Winton by Henry Browne, 30 April 2009 © Henry Browne / National Portrait Gallery, London