At the National Portrait Gallery, a Collection that is Unique in All the World
Location: National Portrait Gallery
Address: St. Martin's Pl, Charing Cross, London WC2H 0HE
In the light of a lantern, a young woman traces the profile of her lover on the wall, just before he is about to leave. His father, a potter in Corinth, works these lines into his clay. According to an ancient and fortunate legend, this is the origin of art itself. For thousands of years, before the invention of photography, the painted, sculpted and drawn portrait represented the only means for making distant or deceased people, somehow, become present. Over time, it acquired new functions, highlighting power and prestige, taste and virtue, beauty and emotion. In London, a museum celebrates the art of the portrait with an incredible collection that spans centuries. The National Portrait Gallery is a treasure trove that cannot be matched anywhere else in the world, with eleven-thousand paintings, drawings, sculptures and miniatures, as well as a section dedicated to photography that gathers together over 250.000 images. It is possible to admire masterpieces from Joshua Reynolds, William Hogarts and Andy Warhol, iconic portraits of characters such as Shakespeare and Queen Victoria, photos by masters like Henri Cartier-Bresson or Helmuth Newton, right up to contemporary artist David LaChapelle - a truly remarkable repertoire of faces and characters that tell the very story of Western Civilisation.
The Hay Wain is a painting by John Constable, completed in 1821, which depicts a rural scene on the River Stour between the English counties of Suffolk and Essex. It is regarded as "Constable's most famous image" and one of the greatest and most popular English paintings of all times.
Shonibare's new works focus on the themes of migration and the conflicts that cause it, and opens a conversation on the role of public sculptures and their meaning in our cities.
Twenty years after the extraordinary success of the show Jailhouse Rock, West End's star Mario Kombou and musical director David Mackay join forces for the new musical The Elvis Years, a show that spans the entire creative life of the King of Rock.
The history of photography according to Elton John
This exhibition covers the period from the 1950s to the present day and bring together an unrivalled selection of the world’s leading photographers including works by Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, William Eggleston, Diane Arbus, Sally Mann, and others.