National Portrait Gallery

The eighteenth-century portrait of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo is the earliest known British portrait of a freed slave. Fascinated with Diallo’s enigmatic story, poet Ben Okri responds to the subject in a new poem, ‘Diallo’s Testament’ as part of his involvement in the portrait’s tour of partner venues around the UK.

Suitable for

• Any age

During Henry VIII’s reign Hans Holbein the Younger undertook many portraits of prominent individuals at court, such as Thomas Cromwell, Thomas More and William Warham. In the years that followed these images came to be prized not only as depictions of illustrious men, but also for Holbein’s skill as an artist. As a result they were frequently copied, with artists producing paintings that faithfully mimicked both the composition and colouration of the original portraits. The number of surviving works of this type suggest that there was a lively market for such paintings during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James VI and I.

This display will bring together a selection of the Gallery’s copies of Holbein’s portraits, all of which have undergone technical analysis as part of the Making Art in Tudor Britain project. This research has revealed new information about how and when they were made, and about the techniques that were used to ensure that the finished works skilfully evoked the originals.

Suitable for

• Any age

Website

http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/display/2014/hans-holbein-re-made-copies-and-versions-of-portraits-from-the-tudor-court.php

Naval Officers of World War I by Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope is one of three large group portraits commissioned by the South African financier Sir Abraham (‘Abe’) Bailey in the aftermath of the Great War. The other two portraits, Statesmen of World War 1 by Sir John Lavery and General Officers of World War 1 by John Singer Sargent are on permanent display in Room 30. Owing to poor condition, Naval Officers has not been seen for several decades. However, following a recent successful appeal for necessary funds to restore the work, the present display returns this important painting to public view.

Suitable for

• Any age

Website

http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson

The Portrait Award, which celebrates its twenty-fifth year of sponsorship by BP in 2014, showcases the most outstanding and innovative new portraits from around the world. From informal and personal studies of friends and family to revealing paintings of famous faces, the exhibition features a variety of styles and approaches to the contemporary painted portrait. The fifty-five portraits on display, selected from a record-breaking 2,377 entries, include the three shortlisted artists as well as the winners of the BP Young Artist 2014 and the BP Travel Award 2013.

Now in its thirty-fifth consecutive year at the National Portrait Gallery, the Portrait Award is the most prestigious international portrait painting competition and the free exhibition continues to be an unmissable highlight of the annual art calendar.

The exhibition will again be complemented by BP Portrait Award: Next Generation – a series of workshops and online resources that offer young people new opportunities for learning and creativity through portraiture.

Suitable for

• Any age

Website

http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/bp-portrait-award-2014.php

Guest curated by biographer Frances Spalding, Virginia Woolf: Art, Life and Vision will explore Woolf as a novelist, intellectual, campaigner and public figure. The exhibition looks at Woolf’s early life, literary interests and remarkable achievements, her fascination with London, awareness of modernity, and her developing feminist and political views. These are brought into focus through in-depth research and an array of archival material, including letters to and from her friends and acquaintances, extracts from her personal diaries, and original books that were first printed through the Hogarth Press.

Highlights of the exhibition include distinctive portraits of Woolf by her Bloomsbury Group contemporaries, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Roger Fry, as well as a collection of photographs by Beresford, Man Ray, and Beck and McGregor who photographed Woolf for Vogue. The exhibition will also feature portraits of those she was closest to, including a selection of intimate images recording her time spent with friends, family and literary peers.

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

Adult £7.00 (with Gift Aid)
Seniors £6.50/Concessions £6.00

Website

http://www.​npg.​org.​uk

‘I determined to do no less than to transform the world with Beauty. If I have succeeded in some small way, if only in one small corner of the world, amongst the men and women I love, then I shall count myself blessed, and blessed, and blessed, and the work goes on.’

Anarchy & Beauty explores the life and ideas of the great Victorian artist, writer and visionary thinker William Morris. Through portraits, personal items and fascinating objects, many of which will be on public display for the first time, this major exhibition illustrates Morris’s concept of ‘art for the people’ and highlights the achievements of those that he inspired.

Curated by acclaimed author and biographer Fiona MacCarthy, the display features original furniture and textiles designed and owned by Morris as well as the work of his contemporaries including Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones. These will be innovatively showcased alongside remarkable books, jewellery, ceramics and clothing by craftspeople such as Eric Gill, Bernard Leach and Terence Conran, demonstrating how Morris’s legacy continued into the twentieth century, influencing radical politics, the Garden City movement and the Festival of Britain in 1951.

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

Tickets including Gift Aid £14.00 Senior citizens (aged 60 and over) £13.00, Concs £12.00 Family: one/two adults or concessions and up to four children (aged 12–18) £20/£29

Website

http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/anarchy-beauty-william-morris-and-his-legacy-1860-1960/home.php

Enjoy a vinyl set inspired by the portraits on display.

Suitable for

• Any age

Take inspiration from the portraits and sketch in the Gallery in this artist-led session. Part of London Creativity and Wellbeing Week.

Suitable for

• Family friendly

A talk on a chosen portrait in the Gallery's Collection.

Please check signage on the day for details.

Suitable for

• Family friendly

Listen and unwind at the Late Shift bar.

Suitable for

• Family friendly