Portraits

Portraits, portraiture collections, portrait exhibitions and acquisitions - explore them here with Culture24 news, reviews, features, event listings, websites and much more...

An image of a painting of women looking gloomy inside a Victorian drawing room

Frank Holl: Victorian painter is Emerging from the Shadows at Surrey's Watts Gallery

Dutiful seamstresses and images of the funereal in a first major retrospective for the Victorian painter commissioned by the Queen and revered at the Royal Academy.

A painting of a man dressed as a King

Kevin Spacey reimagined as Richard III by Jonathan Yeo at National Portrait Gallery

A portrait of the actor, made during his time as Richard III at The Old Vic Theatre, will join paintings of Rupert Murdoch, Erin O’Connor, Grayson Perry and Sienna Miller.

A photograph of a shopfront and graffiti

Merseystyle: Photographs by The Caravan Gallery at the Museum of Liverpool

In collaboration with a visual arts project and mobile exhibition space, the Museum of Liverpool presents a stunning site-specific photography exhibition.

A photo of people walking along a field dressed as huge skeletons and carnivalesque animals

Come Carnival: Works by Markéta Luskačová and Francis West at London's Piper Gallery

Czech carnivals and a "Pandora's Box" of shape-shifting, imaginary scenes as photographer Markéta Luskačová and painter Francis West combine mystical forces.

a painting of a man in a Victorian frock coat holding his hat by his side next to a babbling stream and rocks.

Ashmolean Museum acquires Millais' famous Pre-Raphaelite portrait of John Ruskin

The Ashmolean Museum has permanently acquired John Everett Millais' famous portrait of John Ruskin thanks to the Arts Council Acceptance in Lieu scheme.

A photo of various small comical painted dolls on red shelves

Ordinary/Extra/Ordinary unites Jeremy Deller, Tracey Emin and more at The Public

Vitality, diversity and humour are the aims for curator David Thorp in a British Council touring show which brings the likes of David Shrigley and Martin Creed to West Bromwich.

A photograph of Dieter Roth's diaries

Camden Arts Centre's Dieter Roth's diaries offers insight into an elusive artist's life

Camden Arts Centre offers an intimate insight into the impassioned life and work of German-Swiss artist Dieter Roth through a collection of his personal diaries and several large-scale installations.

An image of a painting of a young family

BP Portrait Award 2013 is a family affair at London's National Portrait Gallery

A painter who portrayed his three children growing up and an artist whose sitter was her eldest son are the finalists in the National Portrait Gallery's annual award, which has increased the prize......

A photo of a couple

A view through the Urban Eye of Charlie Phillips at Nottingham's New Art Exchange

Growing up in an at-times hostile West London, Charlie Phillips began portraying the Caribbean community of the 1950s and 1960s. His photos are hidden stories of life.

A photo of a woman holding a football on a field

August Sanders inspires sandergram at Leicester People's Photography Gallery

Following the major exhibition of the influential photographer's work in Leicester earlier this year, 150 August Sanders-inspired photos come courtesy of students and the public.

A black and white photo of a man wearing a female wig and flowery dress in a studio

Studio Sittings: Photographing Royal Academicians at Leighton House Museum

The new show the Holland Park home of former Royal Academy President Lord Leighton compares studio portraits of Victorian artists with shots of their more recent peers.

A painting of the Virgin and baby Jesus with Joseph and a donkey on the flight to Egypt

Barocci: a forgotten Renaissance painter at the National Gallery in London

Four centuries after his death, an exhibition dedicated to Italian Renaissance painter Federico Barocci is giving the British public the chance to appreciate this little-known artist.

A photo of a girl with red hair dressed in a silvery superhero outfit crouching by a wall

David Hancock's Cosplay, Zed Nelson's Love Me and Sensing Sculpture in Wolverhampton

Cosplayers in the Midlands, an interactive gallery of sculpture and the chase for beauty worldwide fills Wolverhampton Art Gallery's halls.

An image of a 17th century oil portrait painting of a royal woman wearing a carnation

Mystery portrait revealed as Van Dyck work by Culture Show at the Bowes Museum

A portrait held at Durham's Bowes Museum for more than a century has been unmasked as a work by 17th century master Anthony van Dyck..

A photo of a woman standing next to a black and white portrait on a red gallery wall

Curator's Choice: An accidental portrait of Michael Caine at the Museum of London

The new Michael Caine exhibition at the Museum of London is full of iconic images but the curator's favourite, shows Caine relaxing with his 1960s flatmate Terence Stamp.

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