Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1769-1830

Michael Levey

National Portrait Gallery, London

Portraits of famous and overlooked women from all walks of life, from the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London This book focuses on the untold stories of women who were pioneers in a variety of fields, aiming to broaden the research into women in the National Portrait Gallery, London's collection as part of an ongoing project in partnership with Chanel. Although the successes and achievements of many of these women have not been celebrated historically, this new publication shines a light on their stories, achievements and contributions to history and culture both in Britain and internationally. Inspirational Women features an introductory essay on the selection of sitters in the book, as well as extended captions throughout exploring the stories behind their achievements. It covers key themes and moments in history, showcasing both the famous and less well-known women in fields including the arts, science and technology, social reform and politics. Some of the sitters include Mary Beale, Gwen John, Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Dorothy Hodgkin, Olive Morris and Laura Knight.

Inspirational Women: Rediscovering Stories in Art, Science and Social Reform

Miller, Lydia

Arts & Photography

On the Tudors and their legacy, from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I 
This illustrated volume shows how the Tudor monarchs of Britain engaged with the internationalism of court culture; 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 features some of the most famous royal and court figures from the 16th century, from Henry VIII and Catherine de’ Medici to Elizabeth I and Walter Ralegh. 
Artworks are arranged into the themes of court culture, religion, queenship, conflict, empire, piracy and trade, and translation. The book features texts from a range of voices exploring the historical contexts of the works, new research on the topics and biographical sketches of key individuals whose role in Tudor history has often been overlooked, such as the trumpeter John Blanke.

The Tudors: Passion, Power and Politics

History & Criticism

The National Portrait Gallery's collections hold numerous portraits of creative partnerships. This book looks at the extensive collection of the Gallery and explores the role of love and the people featured both as sitters and artists. Drawing on recent scholarship, the exhibition will explore changing ideas of love, and give readers the opportunity to discover love stories both tragic and transcendent. The stories cover a variety of topics, including: the role of the muse, featuring stories such as George Romney, Lady Emma Hamilton and Nelson, and the Bloomsbury group; scandal and tragedy, exploring the relationships of Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas, Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono; literary love, highlighting the tales of Mary and Percy Shelley, and Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes; a shared studio, featuring the stories of artists Lee Miller and Man Ray, and Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson; and love and the lens, which explores the stories of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, and Mick and Bianca Jagger. Love Stories will be brought to life through the perspective of various authors, using material from the sitter's own letters, diaries and poetry, while highlighting their connection and influence on some of the greatest masterpieces of art.

Love Stories: Art, Passion & Tragedy

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

The National Portrait Gallery holds the world's most extensive collection of portraits: a museum of people, a gallery of stories and ideas, and a home of artistic masterpieces. It celebrates the power and creativity of individuals - artists as well as their sitters.Icons and Identities draws upon the outstanding collections of the National Portrait Gallery to investigate and celebrate the variety and complexity of the genre. It draws together 'icons' - the most famous faces from British history from Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Isaac Newton to Audrey Hepburn and The Beatles - alongside less well-known sitters that provide a fascinating insight into the representation of identity in portraits. It also includes some intriguing surprises to reflect the diversity of the National Portrait Gallery's collection and to introduce audiences around the world to exceptional portraits of many kinds.This publication will show how artists, working across a range of media including painting, photography and multimedia, have revealed the visually stimulating and intellectually vibrant tradition of portrait making. It is structured around a series of key timeless themes and each section will include a selection of works from a range of periods, allowing audiences to consider how artists and sitters have engaged with themes of power, fame, the self, innovation, identity, memory and loss.

Icons and Identities

An affordable pocket introduction to the most constructive and creative influence on English taste between the wars 
The Bloomsbury Group was a union of friends who transformed British culture with their approach to art, design and society. The group aimed to rebel and challenge what they felt were the religious, artistic, social and sexual taboos of Victorian England. Together they created a revolution in British style that resonates with contemporary painters, writers, actors, designers, fashion editors and publishers.\nThis book explores the impact of Bloomsbury personalities on each other, as well as their legacy to the 21st century. Author and acclaimed Bloomsbury expert Frances Spalding demonstrates how this network of artists, lovers and patrons recorded one another obsessively in both words and images. She presents 20 fascinating biographies, all of which are illustrated with paintings and intimate photographs created by members of the group. Highlighted in her revealing account are Virginia and Leonard Woolf, Vanessa and Clive Bell, Duncan Grant, Lady Ottoline Morrell, Roger Fry, J.M. Keynes, Lytton Strachey and Dora Carrington.

The Bloomsbury Group

Pre-Raphaelite Sisters

Overlooked stories of the female painters and subjects of Pre-Raphaelite art
When the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood 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 colors 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 colors. Who were these women? What is known of their lives and their roles in a movement that 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 socializing with patrons. Some were skilled in the arts of interior decoration, dressmaking, embroidery, jewelry-making―the fine crafts that formed a supportive tier for the “higher” arts of painting and sculpture. Although their backgrounds and life experiences certainly varied widely, all were engaged in creating Pre-Raphaelite art. Containing over 100 beautifully reproduced images, Pre-Raphaelite Sisters illustrates the obscure stories of some of the movement’s most familiar faces."

The National Portrait Gallery, London, is home to an extensive collection of portraits representing people who have contributed to British history and culture, many of whom have also played an important role in fashion history. With an illustrated introductory text by Senior Curator of Photographs Magda Keaney on the role of fashion in the Gallery's collection, this book highlights the close links between fashion and portraiture. 100 Fashion Figures showcases fashion portraits held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.The sitters include historic and contemporary fashion icons, fashion musesand influential designers, in addition to portraits by notable fashion photographers, and some key works are accompanied by detailed captions. This concise publicationtells astory of fashion through works from the Gallery's collection. The succinct format will offer readers of this title a visually engaging insight into some of the most significant fashion portraits in the Gallery's collection, making it a well-suited addition to the growing series of 100 books including 100 Photographs and 100 Pioneering Women.

100 Fashion Icons

The National Portrait Gallery, London, holds a large collection of portraits featuring sitters who have played an important role in British history and culture across the periods, many of which have also made significant contributions as writers. 100 Writers will be the first Gallery publication to bring together portraits of writers from varied disciplines and periods into one publication. An illustrated introductory text will explore the range of writers' portraits held in the Gallery and the important role they have played in British culture. It will also look at the relationship between the written word and visual arts, encompassing the variety of writers and themes. This new title will include earlier sixteenth-century works through to contemporary portraits, with a focus on writers who have made an important contribution to a number of areas such as literature, history, philosophy and politics. Select works will also be accompanied by quotations taken from interviews, essays and acclaimed works by a number of the writers. The book will be of the same compact format as earlier 100s titles such as 100 Photographs and 100 Portraits and will be a welcome addition to this series of books, presenting highlights from the collection through the lens of literature.

100 Writers

The many portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, spanning nearly a century of British history 
This book highlights the most interesting and important portraits of Queen Elizabeth II that are held in the Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London. With just under 1,000 portraits of Elizabeth II, the National Portrait Gallery boasts some of the most treasured and famous official portraits of the queen captured at key historic moments, as well as day-to-day images of the monarch at home and with family, following her journey from childhood to princess and queen, mother and grandmother. 
A selection of paintings and photographs spanning from 1926 to the present take readers on a visual journey through the life of Britain’s foremost icon, featuring key official portraits alongside more personal images from the queen’s life and reign, explored through the lens of art. Some portraits are accompanied by extended captions and quotes to shed light on their particular significance.

Elizabeth II: Princess, Queen, Icon

Individual Artists

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Books by National Portrait Gallery, London