Sir John Betjeman (1906-1984), Poet Laureate, writer and broadcaster
Sitter in 38 portraits
Born in London of Dutch origin, Betjeman was a friend of W.H. Auden and Louis MacNeice at Oxford. He began writing for the Architectural Review in 1931. At the Architectural Press he proposed the Shell Guides and became the series editor. As an early champion of Victorian architecture, Betjeman exercised, as he put it, his own 'topographical predeliction for suburbs and gaslights and Pont Street and Gothic Revival churches and mineral railways, provincial towns and garden cities'. His published poetry includes A Few Late Chrysanthemums (1954), the blank verse autobiography Summoned by Bells (1960), and A Nip in the Air, published in 1972, the year he became Poet Laureate.
by Angela Conner
bronze bust, 1973
On display in Room 31 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 5778
Candida Lycett-Green; Sir John Betjeman; Penelope (née Chetwode), Lady Betjeman; Paul Betjeman
by Bassano
quarter-plate glass negative, 30 July 1948
NPG x78423
Candida Lycett-Green; Paul Betjeman; Sir John Betjeman; Penelope (née Chetwode), Lady Betjeman
by Bassano
quarter-plate glass negative, 30 July 1948
NPG x78424
by John Gay
vintage bromide print, 1949
NPG x126620
by John Gay
vintage contact sheet, 1949
NPG x126621
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by Rollie McKenna
bromide print, 1950s
NPG x137168
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25955
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25956
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25957
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25958
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25959
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25960
by John Gay
vintage bromide print, published March 1954 (1949)
NPG x126619
by Cecil Beaton
bromide print on white card mount, 1955
NPG x14028
by Mark Gerson
modern bromide print, November 1960
NPG x88199
by Godfrey Argent
bromide print, 17 January 1968
NPG x165061
by Granville Davies
black and white glossy print, December 1982
NPG x17992
by Granville Davies
black and white glossy print, December 1982
NPG x17993
by Granville Davies
black and white glossy print, December 1982
NPG x17994
by Stephen Hyde
bromide print, August 1983
NPG x24946
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