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What were the real life stories and legacies of the six women who married Henry VIII? Discover these extraordinary queens through the court culture that recorded and shaped their often tempestuous lives: their letters, heraldic devices, books, love tokens and, of course, their portraits. The women who married Henry VIII have come to be encapsulated in a six-word rhyme: ‘Divorced, Beheaded, Died / Divorced, Beheaded, Survived’. But what were their real stories and legacies? Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII's Queens reveals the extraordinary lives, and afterlives, of Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr. A source of fascination to historians and writers down the centuries, each of the queens, and their relationship with the king, has been the subject extensive research and a source of creative inspiration. This publication focuses on the material traces of the queens and the court culture that shaped their lives, extensively illustrated with their letters, heraldic devices, books, love tokens and, of course, their portraits. The book begins with an examination of the women as cultural phenomena, looking at the ways in which their lives have inspired storytellers, from Shakespeare’s Henry VIII to the musical Six, and the role that portraiture has played in the performance of the queens’ stories. An overview essay examines the queens’ self-presentation through portraiture before individual chapters consider each of their relationships with the king, their social and familial networks and their patronage. Each chapter is accompanied by a thematic piece written by an expert scholar, taking a closer look at an element of court culture, ranging from music and jewellery, to court pageantry and heraldry. The publication accompanies an exhibition of the same name at the National Portrait Gallery in Summer 2024.

For far too long the male protagonists of the Pre-Raphaelite movement have dominated accounts of this revolution in British art. This book aims to redress the balance in showing just how engaged and central women were to the endeavour – as the subjects of the images themselves, certainly, but also in their production. When the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (the ‘PRB’) exhibited their first works in 1849 it heralded a revolution in British art. Styling themselves the ‘Young Painters of England’ this group of young men aimed to overturn stale Victorian artistic conventions and challenge the previous generation with their startling colours and compositions. Think of the images created by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and others in their circle, however, and it is not men but pale-faced young women with lustrous, tumbling locks that spring to mind, gazing soulfully from the picture frame or in dramatic scenes painted in glowing colours. Who were these women? What is known of their lives and their roles in a movement that, in successive phases, spanned over half a century?Some were models, plucked from obscurity to pose for figures in Pre-Raphaelite paintings, while others were sisters, wives, daughters and friends of the artists. Several were artists themselves, with aspirations to match those of the men, sharing the same artistic and social networks yet condemned by their gender to occupy a separate sphere. Others inhabited and sustained a male-dominated art world as partners in production, maintaining households and studios and socialising with patrons. Some were skilled in the arts of interior decoration, dressmaking, embroidery, jewellery-making – the fine crafts that formed a supportive tier for the ‘higher’ arts of painting and sculpture. And although their backgrounds and life-experiences certainly varied widely, all were engaged in creating Pre-Raphaelite art.

Drawing into Painting reveals Lucian Freud’s lifelong focus on the human face and form, tracing the intimate dialogue between his sketches and paintings from the 1930s to the early 21st century. Lucian Freud (1922–2011) is celebrated as one of the great figurative realist artists of the twentieth century, who devoted his artistic life to portraiture. Famously stating that ‘everything is a portrait’, he created intensely observed portraits of animals and plants, as well as his family members and those in his social circle and daily life. Drawing into Painting explores how drawing remained central to Freud’s artistic practice throughout his life. From quick sketches to finished works in charcoal, pastel, and etching, his drawings offer a rare window into his process, revealing shifts in style, experimentation, and his evolving way of seeing. Spanning from his childhood to his final years, the book traces the unconventional path from his drawing practice to his painting, and back again.Alongside a selection of key paintings by Freud and others, the book includes conversations with David Dawson, Freud’s close friend and assistant, and Bella Freud, the artist’s daughter. Insightful essays by writer and curator Catherine Lampert, British Museum drawings curator Isabel Seligman, and acclaimed novelist Colm Tóibín further illuminates Freud’s world and legacy.

In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries there was one art form in which English artists excelled above all their continental European counterparts: the painting of miniatures. This fascinating book explores the genre with special reference to two of its most accomplished practitioners, Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver, whose astounding skill brought them international fame and admiration. Four centuries ago, England was famous primarily for its literary culture – the dram a of Shakespeare and Ben Jonson and the works of the great lyrical and metaphysical poets. When it came to the production of visual art, the country was seen as something of a backwater. However, there was one art form for which English artists of this period were renowned: portrait miniature painting, or as it was known at the time, limning. Growing from roots in manuscript illumination, it was brought to astonishing heights of skill by two artists in particular: Nicholas Hilliard (1547–1619) and Isaac Oliver (c .1565–1617).In addition to exhibiting the exquisite technique of the artists, portrait miniatures express in a unique way many of the most distinctive and fascinating aspects of court life in this period: ostentatious secrecy, games of courtly love, arcane symbolism, a love of intricacy and decoration. Bedecked in elaborate lace, encrusted in jewellery and sprinkled with flowers, court ladies smile enigmatically at the viewer; their male counterparts rest on grassy banks or lean against trees, sighing over thwarted love, or more modestly express their hopes in Latin epigrams inscribed around their heads. Often set in richly enamelled and jewelled gold lockets, or beautifully turned ivory or ebony boxes, such miniatures could be concealed or revealed, exchanged or kept, as part of elaborate processes of friendship, love, patronage and diplomacy at the courts of Elizabeth I and James I /VI. This richly illustrated book, like the exhibition it accompanies, explores what the portrait miniature reveals about identity, society and visual culture in Elizabethan and Jacobean England.

The Face Magazine: Culture Shift celebrates The Face’s most iconic portraits from 1980–2004. It explores the magazine’s role in the evolution of style photography and its international and enduring impact on visual culture. The Face is the original, definitive, style bible – a ground-breaking magazine that has radically disrupted youth culture in Britain and beyond since its launch in 1980. Known for its striking design, bold, inclusive content and innovative photography, the magazine has launched the careers of many leading photographers, writers, designers, stylists and models. The Face Magazine: Culture Shift includes portraits of iconic sitters including Kate Moss, Annie Lennox, Kurt Cobain, Iggy Pop, Snoop Dogg, David Bowie, Ewan McGregor, Madness, The Sex Pistols, and Kylie Minogue. It features the voices of some of the key contributors to the magazine and celebrates the ongoing legacy of the magazine’s imagery in British art, design and culture. It showcases striking portrait photographs from the likes of Miles Aldridge, Elaine Constantine, Corinne Day, David LaChapelle and Juergen Teller, alongside selected covers from the print magazine.

The Face Magazine: Culture Shift celebrates The Face’s most iconic portraits from 1980–2004. It explores the magazine’s role in the evolution of style photography and its international and enduring impact on visual culture. The Face is the original, definitive, style bible – a ground-breaking magazine that has radically disrupted youth culture in Britain and beyond since its launch in 1980. Known for its striking design, bold, inclusive content and innovative photography, the magazine has launched the careers of many leading photographers, writers, designers, stylists and models. The Face Magazine: Culture Shift includes portraits of iconic sitters including Kate Moss, Annie Lennox, Kurt Cobain, Iggy Pop, Snoop Dogg, David Bowie, Ewan McGregor, Madness, The Sex Pistols, and Kylie Minogue. It features the voices of some of the key contributors to the magazine and celebrates the ongoing legacy of the magazine’s imagery in British art, design and culture. It showcases striking portrait photographs from the likes of Miles Aldridge, Elaine Constantine, Corinne Day, David LaChapelle and Juergen Teller, alongside selected covers from the print magazine.

Experience iconic works from the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection and the cocktails inspired by the collection, in the menu for the Gallery’s award-winning underground speakeasy Larry's, by the Daisy Green Collection.From the regal gin cocktail ‘The Cecil Beaton’ to the experimental, colourful ‘CMYK Fizz’ inspired by Yevonde, and the award-winning dirty martini McBean cocktail. These fabulous cocktails evoke bygone eras and the creative spirit of London’s West End which is known for its hub of creativity and pioneering jazz scene. This beautiful hardback publication begins with an introduction to Larry’s Bar and the story of its namesake, the actor Sir Laurence Olivier. It then showcases each of Larry’s bespoke cocktails, telling the stories behind their inspiration, ingredients and design. Each story is illustrated with images of each drink and portraits of iconic figures ranging from Audrey Hepburn to Francis Bacon from the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection.

This book, which accompanies the first major exhibition devoted to David Hockney’s drawings inover 20 years,will explore Hockney as a draughtsman from the 1950s to now, with a focus on himself, his family and friends. From Ingres to the iPad –this book demonstrates the artist’s ingenuity in portrait drawing with reference to both tradition and technology.David Hockney is recognised as one of the master draughtsmen of our times and a champion of the medium. This book will feature Hockney’s work from the 1950s to now and focus on his depictions of himself and a smaller group of sitters close to him: his muse, Celia Birtwell; his mother, Laura Hockney; and his friends, the curator, Gregory Evans, and master printer, Maurice Payne.This book will examine not only how drawing is fundamental to Hockney’s distinctive way of observing the world around him, but also how it has been a testing ground for ideas and modes of expression later played out in his paintings.From Old Masters to modern masters, from Holbein to Picasso, Hockney’s portrait drawings reveal his admiration for his artistic predecessors and his continuous stylistic experimentation throughout his career.Alongside an in-depth essay from the curator, this book will feature an exclusive interview between author and curator, Sarah Howgate, and artist, David Hockney. In addition, an ‘In Focus’ essay by British Museum curator Isabel Seligman, will explore the relationship between Hockney, Ingres and Picasso drawings.

Published in celebration of the Hollywood star’s 100th birthday and in association with the Marilyn Monroe estate, to accompany the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait celebrates Monroe’s enduring legacy as a cultural icon, by exploring her impact on photography, art and film. Marilyn Monroe was one of the most famous and photographed women of the twentieth century whose cultural significance continues to fascinate generations. Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait reflects on Monroe’s extraordinary impact on photographers and artists, showing familiar and rarely seen photographs of her, alongside outstanding artworks made during her lifetime and afterwards, that collectively create a portrait of her. Today, as we better understand the challenges Monroe faced in her life and the agency she sought in shaping her career, her photographs have accumulated new meanings and captivated new audiences. From her collaborations with photographers such as Eve Arnold and Richard Avedon to bold reinterpretations of her by Pop artists including Pauline Boty and Andy Warhol, Monroe’s image has been continually reimagined, speaking to her lasting impact on visual culture and our understanding of beauty, fame, and power. Far more than a Hollywood star, Monroe was a complex figure; ambitious, witty, charismatic, and deeply involved in the crafting of her public persona. Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait includes contributions from the actor, director and writer Lena Dunham, playwright and cultural commentator Bonnie Greer and feminist art historian Griselda Pollock, who offer fresh and personal perspectives on Monroe’s cultural significance and enduring legacy.

‘Excellent, full of tiny details that expand our knowledge of even the best-known Tudors’ – Lucy Davies, The Telegraph Situating the Tudor dynasty, their court, and the country, in an international context, this book will be highly illustrated and feature contemporary research in an accessible way. It will provide an overview of the ways in which the Tudors engaged with the world and were impacted by broader currents: the internationalism of court culture, religious shifts, trade, naval conflict and the expansion in the Americas. The introductory text will consider the legacies of the Tudors, as the monarchs who reigned during the tumultuous years of the Reformation and the emergence of the transatlantic slave trade and English colonialism. Taking a thematic and biographical approach, the book will feature some of the most famous royal and court figures from the sixteenth century, from Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell, to Elizabeth I and Walter Ralegh. The works shown will be explored from a multitude of perspectives, looking at the sitters’ impact at home and abroad in Europe and the Americas. The international impact of the Tudors will be very evident the portraits featured, the artists of which came from Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy.Artworks will be arranged by the key themes of: court culture, religion, queenship, conflict, empire, piracy and trade, and translation. Each theme will feature an opening text from a range of voices exploring the historical contexts of the works and new research on the topics. It will include biographical sketches of individuals whose role in Tudor history has often been overlooked, such as the trumpeter John Blanke.

Published in celebration of the Hollywood star’s 100th birthday and in association with the Marilyn Monroe estate, to accompany the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.Marilyn Monroe: Reflections presents both famous and unseen photographs of the celebrated actress, alongside iconic quotes from and about Monroe. “If I am a star…the people made me a star. No studio, no person, but the people did.” – Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe is one of the most celebrated icons from the twentieth century who devoted her life to the silver screen. Her beauty and charisma were captured in images taken by some of the great photographers of the era including Eve Arnold and Richard Avedon. Marilyn Monroe: Reflections showcases a number of loved photographs alongside iconic quotes by Monroe and those who knew and admired her including Bonnie Greer, Elton John, and Zadie Smith. From her early years as Norma Jeane, to her unforgettable roles in The Seven Year Itch, and The Misfits, this beautiful giftbook offers readers a personal perspective on the well-loved icon. Monroe sought agency in shaping her career which is illustrated through her own words and her collaboration with photographers in creating her image. A short introduction by Rosie Broadley, Senior Curator at the National Portrait Gallery, explores Monroe’s enduring legacy and cultural impact.

A virtuoso in capturing beauty, glamour, and star power, Cecil Beaton was an extraordinary force in the 20th century British and American creative scenes. Renowned as a photographer, fashion illustrator, costume designer and decorated writer, Beaton’s impact spans the worlds of fashion, photography, and design.Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World is a captivating journey through Cecil Beaton’s photographs from 1922 to 1955, where glamour, resilience, and creativity converge to define an era that continues to captivate audiences today. Cecil Beaton (1904–1980) was an extraordinary force in the 20th century British and American creative scenes. Renowned as a fashion illustrator, Oscar winning costume designer, social caricaturist, essayist, and decorated writer, Beaton’s impact spans the worlds of fashion, photography, and design. This publication will delve into the core of his career, focusing on his key influential contributions to fashion, a realm where he initially garnered acclaim. The publication accompanies the exhibition of the same name which opens at the National Portrait Gallery, London, in October 2025.A virtuoso in capturing beauty, glamour, and star power, Beaton’s lens portrayed everyone of consequence in the interwar and early post-war eras. This book spotlights his ground-breaking fashion work, a pivotal aspect of his career that laid the foundation for his later successes. From his early snapshots of the Bright Young Things in the 1920s to becoming the star photographer of British Vogue by the age of 24, Beaton’s journey through High Society, which takes him from London to Paris, capital of the fashion world, and to New York and Hollywood, is documented in a chronological exploration of his most triumphant years, culminating in his Oscar winning designs for My Fair Lady.

'What happens when Black artists depict Black figures? What art does this produce, and what worlds of possibility does this reveal?' - Ekow Eshun Reframing the Black Figure showcases more than 20 of the most important Black figurative artists working in the UK and US today. This visual giftbook introduces readers to the field of Black figuration by highlighting a selection of key works from the National Portrait Gallery exhibition, The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure. Readers will encounter contemporary Black artists producing beautiful, urgent artworks that presents the Black form with nuance and depth. Richly illustrated with artworks and visual details, alongside short biographies for all featured artists, this accessible publication offers an opportunity for readers to experience some of the most exciting artworks depicting the Black form. Within this context, they take on a dual role, as the accomplished work of individual artists on the one hand, and as a collective assertion of Black presence on the other. Featured artists include Hurvin Anderson, Michael Armitage, Jordan Casteel, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Noah Davis, Godfried Donkor, Kimathi Donkor, Denzil Forrester, Lubaina Himid, Claudette Johnson, Titus Kaphar, Kerry James Marshall, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Chris Ofili, Jennifer Packer, Thomas J. Price, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Lorna Simpson, Amy Sherald, Henry Taylor and Barbara Walker.

The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure edited by Ekow Eshun celebrates flourishing Black artists whose work illuminates the richness, beauty and complexity of Black life. "There is never a time in the future in which we will work out our salvation. The challenge is in the moment, the time is always now." - James Baldwin 'Angry, elegiac, critical and celebratory, The Time Is Always Now brings together 22 leading black artists working in the UK and US.' - The best art and architecture shows to visit in 2024, The Guardian The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure assembles contemporary African diasporic artists working in the UK and US whose practice foregrounds the Black figure. Edited and with texts by Ekow Eshun, and original essays by Bernardine Evaristo, Esi Edugyan and Dorothy Price. Published to coincide with the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London, this publication explores and celebrates contemporary Black artists internationally who work within Black figuration. This visual and beautifully produced book examines contemporary figurative artworks against a backdrop of heightened cultural visibility. Within this context, its collected paintings, drawings and sculptures take on a dual role as the accomplished work of individual artists and as a collective assertion of Black presence. Through a three-part structure containing detailed artist profiles and stunningly reproduced artworks, the publication examines Black figuration as a means to address the absence and distortion of Black presence within Western art history. Profiled artists include Hurvin Anderson, Michael Armitage, Jordan Casteel, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Noah Davis, Godfried Donkor, Kimathi Donkor, Denzil Forrester, Lubaina Himid, Claudette Johnson, Titus Kaphar, Kerry James Marshall, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Chris Ofili, Jennifer Packer, Thomas J. Price, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Lorna Simpson, Amy Sherald, Henry Taylor and Barbara Walker.

Contemporary artist Catherine Opie documents the ebb and flow of human culture. Opie's photography redefines portraiture, probing the complex questions of who we are, how we present ourselves, and why representation matters.Catherine Opie is one of the most influential artists of our time, and through her portrait photography she conveys a sense of shared humanity and beauty. At the core of Opie’s work is a persistent exploration of the evolving ideas around community, identity, and belonging, especially within the LGBTQ+ community. Opie’s wide-ranging portraits include intimate studio shots of friends and figures, capturing moments of vulnerability, pride, and resilience. Alongside these, she creates socially engaged documentary narratives, such as her images from the inauguration of Barack Obama. These photographs work in dialogue with one another to create new narratives, challenging viewers to reflect on the figures most commonly portrayed in art and those who go unseen. This publication accompanies an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, developed in close collaboration with the artist. It raises vital questions about representation. Through her meticulously crafted studio portraits and domestic frameworks, Opie invites viewers to reflect on the diversity of identity and the enduring search for community and acceptance.

Born in London in 1834, William Morris was a radical thinker whose democratic vision for society and art has continued to influence designers, artists and writersto this day, long after his death in 1896. He was a gifted poet, architect, painter, writer and textile designer, who also founded the Kelmscott Press, the most famous of the Arts and Crafts private presses. Morris’s ideas later came to influence the Garden City movement, as well as numerous artists and craftspeople, who sought to negotiate a viable place within the modern world in the troubled years that followed the First World War. His ideals inspired designers, including those who contributed to the 1951 Festival of Britain, with a direct sense of mission to bring the highest design standards within the reach of everyone. During Morris’s lifetime, Oscar Wilde thought him ‘a master of all exquisite design and of all spiritual vision’, while forty years after Morris’s death George Bernard Shaw observed: ‘He towers greater and greater above the horizon beneath which his best advertised contemporaries have disappeared.’This collection of quotations by Morris, his friends, associates and those who came after, reveals and explores his passionately held viewthat beautiful, functional design should be accessible to all.

Explore 500 years of the British royal family and how their portrayal has developed throughout the ages through beautiful artworks from the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection.The Royals: Tudors to Windsors features some of the earliest works in the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection alongside their most recent acquisitions. This beautiful publication includes a timeline of key events and is illustrated through photographs and paintings of the British royal family, from King Henry VIII to King Charles III. Discover how the monarchy have positioned themselves within images of strength, domesticity and love; from traditional paintings by Nicholas Hilliard and Joshua Reynolds, to modern-day photographs by Dorothy Wilding and Nadav Kander. An introduction by Rab MacGibbon explains the history of the British royal family and their continued relevance today. The Royals is a chronological, highly-illustrated book. Showcasing the Gallery’s collection of royal portraiture, works are accompanied by captions that explore reigns, relationships, biographies and portraiture. This publication is the newest addition to the National Portrait Gallery’s Royalty Book Collection.

The Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award is one of Britain’s most prestigious art prizes, and is the leading showcase for artists throughout the world specialising in portraiture. Barbara Walker, Tom Shakespeare and Russell Tovey are among this years judging panel.The prestigious competition showcases the very best in contemporary portrait painting and is open to everyone aged eighteen and over. Since its inception over 40 years ago, the competition has attracted over 40,000 entries from more than 100 countries and over 6 million people have seen the exhibition.Alongside stunning artwork reproductions, the catalogue includes extended interviews with all prize-winning artists by journalist Richard McClure, and descriptive captions for all exhibited works by National Portrait Gallery curator Tanya Bentley, providing fascinating insight into the people and techniques behind the portraits.

‘This whirligig of horrors is the best Bacon show I’ve ever seen’ - Jonathan Jones The Guardian Featuring works from the 1950s onwards, this book explores Francis Bacon’s deep connection to portraiture and how he challenged traditional definitions of the genre. From his responses to portraiture by earlier artists, to large-scale paintings memorialising lost lovers, works from private and public collections will showcase Bacon’s life story. As well as the artist’s self-portraits, sitters include Lucian Freud, Isabel Rawsthorne and lovers Peter Lacy and George Dyer.The first publication in over 20 years dedicated to the portraits of Francis Bacon, this book accompanies the exhibition of the same name opening at the National Portrait Gallery, London, in October 2024. From his renowned triptychs and paintings of ghostly figures, to tender and psychologically revealing individual portraits, the figurative works displayed in this publication chart the development of a groundbreaking artist, highlighting the influence of his peers and other artists. Edited and with introductory texts by National Portrait Gallery curator, Rosie Broadley, Francis Bacon: Portraits also features biographies and photographs of Bacon and his circle, bringing lesser-told stories to the fore. A series of short essays from a range of contemporary thinkers and experts on Bacon explore the individuality of the artist through different lenses, providing fresh perspectives on the artist, his portraits and his world.

Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron: Portraits to Dream In draws parallels between two of the most significant practitioners in the history of photography, presenting fresh research, rare vintage prints, and previously unseen archival works. 'I feel that photographs can either document and record reality or they can offer images as an alternative to everyday life: places for the viewer to dream in.' – Francesca Woodman, 1980 Living and working over a century apart, Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–1879) and Francesca Woodman (1958–1981) experienced very different ways of making and understanding photographs. Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron: Portraits to Dream In accompanies the exhibition of the same name opening at the National Portrait Gallery, London, in March 2024. Spanning the careers of both artists, the beautifully illustrated catalogue includes their best-known photographs as well as less familiar images. The exhibition works are arranged into eight thematic sections with feature essays, offering an accessible, engaging opportunity to consider both artists in a new light. This publication presents the artists’ exploration of portraiture as a ‘dream space’. It makes new connections between their work, which pushed the boundaries of the photographic medium and experimented with ideas of beauty, symbolism, transformation and storytelling to produce some of art history’s most compelling and admired photographs.

The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize showcases a wide range of portraits from inspiring contemporary photographers. The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize is one of the most prestigious global photography awards, celebrating the very best in contemporary portraiture. Exhibited annually at the National Portrait Gallery, London, it showcases talented professional and amateur photographers from around the world. Fully illustrated in colour throughout, it includes interviews with all prize-winning photographers, alongside extended captions for each exhibited work and insights from the judges. This book provides a unique opportunity to see an inspiring range of portraits from contemporary photographers selected from thousands of submissions.

Edvard Munch Portraits brings together 80 of Munch’s most significant portraits, showcasing the wide array of styles, techniques and mediums that he employed. Edvard Munch (1863 – 1944) is widely regarded as one of the great artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Although he was lesser known for portraiture, his portraits were central to his art and vision. During the course of his long life he made hundreds of portraits of friends, patrons, models and above all himself, in a range of media that encompassed painting, drawing and print.Edvard Munch Portraits explores the range of portraits Munch created during his lifetime, and by placing his work in the cultural and historical background of his period, provides readers with a greater understanding of the time in which his works were produced. This publication gives deep insight into the artist's family and bohemian social circles, along with his German and Norwegian patrons and the friends who helped establish his reputation.

'Yevonde’s ’30s portraits of high-society beauties and Hollywood stars are finally getting the attention they deserve.' - British Vogue 'Yevonde: Life and Colour opens at the revamped National Portrait Gallery ... and will feature a comprehensive selection of works dreamed up by this brilliant artist across a 60-year-career. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more joyful show anywhere in the country.' - Jennifer Higgie, The Telegraph ‘Be original or die would be a good motto for photographers to adopt…let them put life and colour into their work.’ - Yevonde. ---------- Yevonde (1893–1975) was a businesswoman and tireless creator, as an innovator committed to colour photography when it was not considered a serious medium, her work is significant in the history of British portrait photography. Yevonde championed photography during a time where there were few women photographers working professionally, and this book tells the story of her life, works, and 60-year career.Yevonde: Life and Colour brings the photographer’s works together again for the first time in 20 years and features previously unpublished works. This book showcases her experimentation with a range of techniques and genres including colour photography, portraiture, still-lifes, solarisation, and the Vivex colour process, and repositions her as a modern artist of the twentieth century.This highly illustrated publication provides in-depth context to Yevonde’s images, considering their aesthetic and mythic references. Yevonde’s portraits embody glorified tradition countered with a desire for the new.  Her most renowned body of work is a series of women dressed as goddesses posed in surreal tableaux from the 1930s.

This book explores Francis Bacon’s deep connection to portraiture and how he challenged traditional definitions of the genre. From his responses to portraiture by earlier artists, to large-scale paintings memorialising lost lovers, works from private and public collections showcase Bacon’s life story. As well as the artist’s self-portraits, sitters include Lucian Freud, Isabel Rawsthorne and lovers Peter Lacy and George Dyer. This is the first publication in over 20 years dedicated to the portraits of Francis Bacon. From his renowned triptychs and paintings of ghostly figures, to tender and psychologically revealing individual portraits, the figurative works displayed in this publication chart the development of a groundbreaking artist, highlighting the influence of his peers and other artists. Edited and with introductory texts by National Portrait Gallery curator, Rosie Broadley, Francis Bacon: Human Presence also features biographies and photographs of Bacon and his circle, bringing lesser-told stories to the fore. A series of short essays from a range of contemporary thinkers and experts on Bacon explore the individuality of the artist through different lenses, providing fresh perspectives on the artist, his portraits and his world.

Women at Work: 1900 to Now reveals the sometimes overlooked stories of women from 1900 to the present day who have shaped history and culture in Britain and beyond. Women at Work: 1900 to Now celebrates over 100 influential and inspiring women and their achievements in fields including science, activism, photography and design. Their fascinating and sometimes untold stories are illustrated with artworks from the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection, new acquisitions and commissions supported by the CHANEL Culture Fund, and rare archival images. Sitters include Bernardine Evaristo, Margot Fonteyn, Mo Mowlam, Beatrix Potter, Zadie Smith, Amy Winehouse, Virginia Woolf and Malala Yousafzai.

National Portrait Gallery: The Collection introduces the key people who have shaped the history of Britain, its culture and identity, by exploring essential highlights from the National Portrait Gallery’s unrivalled Collection. National Portrait Gallery: The Collection is published to celebrate the reopening of the Gallery after a three-year redevelopment project. Designed by Daniela Rocha, this engaging and inviting book takes the reader on a chronological journey through Britain’s history in portraiture, from the Tudors to Now, featuring the country’s most impactful and famous individuals, from Queen Elizabeth I to Mary Seacole, and Virginia Woolf to David Bowie. The book is richly illustrated with beautiful paintings, photographs, sculptures, drawings and digital works.Readers will enjoy a selection of the most popular and recognisable portraits from the Collection, accompanied by short chapter introductions that introduce key historical periods, their most exciting figures, and their most important historical, political, social and cultural moments. This accessible structure allows the reader to dip into any of the beautiful portraits and their stories, and understand their place in British history.An Introduction by Director Dr. Nicholas Cullinan will highlight why portraiture has been fundamental to people and society historically, but also to contemporary audiences, by exploring themes of culture, identity and the representation of diversity. This will also introduce readers to the nation’s newly-reopened National Portrait Gallery, explaining how it came to be the nation’s home of portraits and the world’s most significant Collection of people.

Charles III: The Making of a King highlights the most important portraits of King Charles III from the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection.Charles III: The Making of a King celebrates King Charles III in the year of his coronation. Follow Charles’ life from a baby, his investiture as Prince of Wales to becoming king through the National Portrait Gallery’s collection of portraits and photographs of Britain’s newest monarch. From the same publisher that brought to you Elizabeth II: Princess, Queen, Icon. The beautiful gift book includes a timeline of key events from King Charles’ life, and explores the future of the monarchy through photographs and paintings of the wider royal family, including Diana, Princess of Wales, Camilla, Queen Consort, William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales, Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and Prince George of Wales.Presenting family photographs alongside important formal portraits, this book features works by key artists who have depicted the King from 1948 to the present day, such as Nadav Kander, Cecil Beaton, Marcus Adams, Lisa Sheridan, Lord Snowdon, Joan Williams, Patrick Lichfield, Norman Parkinson, Bern Schwartz, Carole Cutner, Bryan Organ, Terence Donovan, Nicola Philipps and Mario Testino.

David Hockney: Normandy Portraits accompanies a major exhibition on David Hockney at the National Portrait Gallery, London. It reveals new portraits painted in Hockney's Normandy Studio between 2020 and 2022. David Hockney: Normandy Portraits illustrates around 40 acrylic on canvas works painted by Hockney at his Normandy studio – depicting his friends and visitors, including his partner JP, pop-star sensation Harry Styles, and the artist himself. This image-led book product will showcase a series of some previously unseen portraits, through 48 pages, uninterrupted by text, to allow readers to engage directly with the artworks that will be on display at the National Portrait Gallery as well as some added exclusives. These works highlight the ongoing importance of portraiture within the artist’s practice and demonstrate his sentiment that ‘drawings and paintings … are a lot better than photographs to give you a sense of the person’. Hockney returned to painting after an intensive period spent depicting the Normandy landscape using an iPad. The portraits were painted quickly and directly onto the canvas without under drawing. As Hockney has said ‘to do a portrait slowly is a bit of a contradiction’.

‘Saville can be appreciated as one of the greatest of any era’ ***** Review of Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting, National Portrait Gallery - Evening Standard Jenny Saville’s large-scale depictions of the human form are a celebration of flesh and paint, figure and abstraction. Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting brings together works from across the artist’s career, ranging from pencil drawings to monumental paintings in oil. The British artist Jenny Saville is one of today’s leading painters, for whom painting the human body gives the artist ‘the possibility to work in both an abstract and figurative way’. Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting accompanies Saville’s first major museum exhibition, showcasing over 50 works from throughout her career in a broadly chronological framework. Essays consider the development of Saville’s practice, marking key moments and the strong connection she makes to art history, while a conversation with the artist gives us a glimpse into her life in the studio, her working methods and influences.