John Gielgud (1904-2000), Actor and theatre director
Sir John Gielgud
Sitter in 113 portraits
Born into a theatrical tradition - Ellen Terry was his great aunt and his father's Polish grandmother was also an actress. He made his professional debut in 1921 at the Old Vic and it was there that his performances in Richard II and Hamlet in 1929 propelled him to fame. Gielgud's fame before the War was as a Shakespearean actor and director, skills he re-deployed in the triumphant one-man Shakespeare recital, Ages of Man, with which he toured the world in 1959. A versatile talent, he directed and played in Christopher Fry's The Lady's Not for Burning in 1949. He won an Oscar for his film role in Arthur (1981). As late as 1998 he starred in The Titchborne Claimant.
by Bernard Lee ('Bern') Schwartz
dye transfer print, 1 May 1977
NPG P1173
by Bernard Lee ('Bern') Schwartz
dye transfer print, 1 May 1977
NPG P1174
John Gielgud; Sir Ralph David Richardson
by Arnold Newman
bromide print, 1978
NPG P150(41)
John Gielgud; Adèle Dixon in 'The Good Companions'
by Paul Tanqueray
bromide print, 1931
NPG x17233
John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'
by Madame Yevonde
bromide print, 1933
NPG x26399
John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'
by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132018
John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'
by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132019
John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'
by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132020
John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'
by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132021
John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'
by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132022
John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'
by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132023
John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'
by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132024
John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'
by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132025
John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'
by Madame Yevonde
Vivex colour print, 1933
NPG x11659
John Gielgud; Dame Peggy Ashcroft as Romeo and Juliet in 'Romeo and Juliet'
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1935
NPG x14505
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1935
NPG x14523
John Gielgud as Romeo and Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier as Mercutio in 'Romeo and Juliet'
by Howard Coster
bromide print, 1936
NPG x16376
John Gielgud; Dame Edith Evans; Dame Peggy Ashcroft in 'The Seagull'
by Howard Coster
bromide print, 1936
NPG x1860
John Gielgud; Dame Edith Evans (Dame Edith Mary Booth); Dame Peggy Ashcroft in 'The Seagull'
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1936
NPG x14517
John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'
by Madame Yevonde
Vivex colour print, 1937
NPG x11658
by Dorothy Wilding
chlorobromide print on card mount, early 1950s
NPG x30466
by Cecil Beaton
bromide print on white card mount, published 1953
NPG x14084
by Godfrey Argent
bromide print, 10 February 1969
NPG x16374
by Godfrey Argent
bromide print, 10 February 1969
NPG x16375
by Madame Yevonde
black and white reprint on card mount, circa 1972
NPG x131735
National Portrait Gallery Extension
by Michael Heath
pen and ink, 2000
NPG D21631
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