Exhibitions currently running:
Philip de László - Rarely seen works by the celebrated portrait painter, Philip de László, will be brought together for the first solo museum display of the artist's work since his death over 70 years ago. This new display will include special loans from The Royal Collection and Chequers and will mark the completion of indexing of the de László archive at the National Portrait Gallery. Focusing on de László's career between 1912 and 1925, the nine portraits on display include several of de László's finest commissioned portraits of eminent public figures. These will be shown alongside a much less well known aspect of his work: intimate portraits of his own family, several of which have not been on public display before. One of the artist's most accomplished paintings, a portrait of the 6th Duchess of Portland, will be on public display for the first time since the artist's death in 1937. Star portraits include probably the artist's most distinguished work, a portrait of the late Queen Mother (1925) on loan from The Royal Collection and a portrait of the American heiress Faith Moore (1920) on loan from Chequers. The display also draws from the Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, including a portrait of Jerome K. Jerome, author of Three Men in a Boat, who was a friend and supporter of de László. Philip de László will run until 5 September and provide an opportunity to reappraise the work of this artist.
BP Portrait Award 2010 - After a record number of entries, three artists have been short-listed for the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, one of Britain's most prestigious international art prizes. This year the prize received 2,177 entries, an increase of over 276 on last year. For the fourth year, the competition has been open to all aged 18 or over. 58 portraits have been selected for the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery which runs from 24 June until 19 September. The three artists shortlisted for the 2010 award are: David Eichenberg for Tim II; Michael Gaskell for Harry and Daphne Todd for Last Portrait of Mother.
Road to 2012: Setting Out - The exhibition Road to 2012: Setting Out shows a new side to Britain’s medal hopefuls and key figures behind the bid and delivery of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games through powerful portrait images. As the two-year countdown to the Olympic and Paralympic Games begins, the Gallery is unveiling 30 portraits, the first from a total of 100 commissions which will be displayed at the Gallery each summer over the next three years. For the first time, the National Portrait Gallery has commissioned portraits and video interviews with some of the sitters and behind-the-scenes photographs of the shoots which reveal the stories behind the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Until 26 September.
Glastonbury: Photographs by Venetia Dearden - Venetia Dearden's portraits taken at Glastonbury festival will be on display for the first time at the National Portrait Gallery in April. Since 2004, Dearden has been documenting the music festival and taking portraits in an on-site temporary studio. The 16 photographs on display will include portraits of Dame Shirley Bassey, Lily Allen, Pete Townshend, Leonard Cohen and a selection of festival goers. The portraits are all shot against a white studio backdrop removing the sitters from the context of the festival. The wellington boots, flip flops and muddy footprints at the bottom of the photographs are clues as to the location of the shoot. The portraits offer a glimpse of the diversity and character of the 150,000 visitors who converge on Glastonbury music festival, now in its fortieth year. Until 26 September.
Camille Silvy, Photographer of Modern Life, 1834-1910 - The first retrospective exhibition of work by Camille Silvy, one of the greatest French photographers of the nineteenth century, will open at the National Portrait Gallery this summer. Marking the centenary of Silvy's death, Camille Silvy, Photographer of Modern Life, 1834 - 1910, will include over a hundred objects, many of which have not been exhibited since 1860. The portraits on display offer a unique glimpse into nineteenth-century Paris and Victorian London through the eyes of one of photography's greatest innovators. Until 24 October.
Bridget Riley Portraits - Portrait drawings by Bridget Riley, one of Britain's best-known abstract artists, will go on display for the first time at the National Portrait Gallery in May. The fifteen works shown in the display were made by Riley during the time she was a student at Goldsmiths College and The Royal College of Art and offer a new source for understanding her mature paintings. The display will run until 5 December. The portraits, dating from the early to mid-1950s, depict Riley's family, friends and studio models. They were made in a range of media including conté crayon, pencil and oil on paper. Riley is widely celebrated as the leading exponent of Op Art and her compelling abstract paintings engage with colour, line, space and movement.
Great British Composers: From Elgar to Adès - To coincide with the launch of the 2010 BBC Proms, a new photographic display at the National Portrait Gallery celebrates remarkable achievements in twentieth-century British classical music. The display comprises 31 photographs of British composers who, collectively, define a great modern tradition. Beginning with Edward Elgar, whose music has links with nineteenth-century romanticism, the selection of portraits traces a trajectory linking Delius, Vaughan Williams and Walton to more recent developments represented by the music of Birtwistle and Adès. Many of the century's great portrait photographers are represented including Elliott and Fry, Bassano, Jorge Lewinski, Howard Coster, Lord Snowdon, Godfrey Argent and Angus McBean. Three giants of British music, Benjamin Britten, William Walton and Michael Tippett, are portrayed in classic studies by Cecil Beaton. Harrison Birtwistle and Peter Maxwell Davies are captured by iconic 1960s photographer Lewis Morley. Until 12 December.
Thomas Lawrence: Regency Power and Brilliance - The first exhibition in Britain since 1979 of the works of the great Regency painter Thomas Lawrence will open in October. Thomas Lawrence: Regency Power and Brilliance will showcase the most important British portrait painter of his generation and explore his development as one of the most celebrated and influential artists in Europe at the start of the nineteenth century. It will include the artist's greatest paintings and drawings, many of which are rarely seen in public and which convey the power and originality of his work. In order to provide a fresh understanding of Lawrence and his career, the exhibition will explore both his technical innovations as a draughtsman and painter and his unprecedented international reputation. It will also place him within the broader contexts of the aesthetic debates, networks of patronage and international politics of his day. From 21 October 2010 until 23 January 2011.
An Englishman in New York: Photographs by Jason Bell - A new display of previously unseen portraits by photographer Jason Bell will open at the National Portrait Gallery in August. Inspired by the 120,000 British men and women living in New York City, Bell has identified and photographed a cross-section of the leading British born figures living in the city. The twenty portraits on display will include the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas P Campbell, writer Zoë Heller, artist Cecily Brown, Nicola Perry, owner of Tea and Sympathy, musician Sting, geneticist Sir Paul Nurse and historian Simon Schama. From 24 August 2010 until 17 April 2011.
National Portrait Gallery opening hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday: 10am – 6pm
(Gallery closure commences at 5.50pm)
Late Opening: Thursday, Friday: 10am – 9pm
(Gallery closure commences at 8.50pm)
Recorded information: 020 7312 2463
General information: 020 7306 0055