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Samuel Beckett

(1906-1989), Playwright

Samuel Barclay Beckett

Sitter in 42 portraits
Born in Dublin Beckett studied modern European Literature at Trinity College, Dublin (1923-1927). From 1932 he lived mainly in Paris becoming closely associated with James Joyce. His plays and novels, mostly written first in French, deliver a reductive view of human existence, and have been internationally influential. They include the novel trilogy Molloy (1951), Malone Dies (1951) and The Unnamable (1953), and the plays Waiting for Godot (premiered in Paris in 1953 and first staged in London in 1955), Endgame (1957), Krapp's Last Tape(1959), Happy Days (1961) and Not I(1973). Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.

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Samuel Beckett, by Brassaï (Gyula Halász) - NPG P1689

Samuel Beckett

by Brassaï (Gyula Halász)
gelatin silver print, 1957
NPG P1689

Samuel Beckett, by Henri Cartier-Bresson - NPG P721

Samuel Beckett

by Henri Cartier-Bresson
bromide print, 1964
NPG P721

Samuel Beckett, by Dmitri Kasterine - NPG P1323

Samuel Beckett

by Dmitri Kasterine
modern bromide print from original negative, 2009, based on a work of 1965
NPG P1323

Samuel Beckett, by Avigdor Arikha - NPG 5100

Samuel Beckett

by Avigdor Arikha
graphite on primed brown paper, 1971
NPG 5100

Samuel Beckett, by Jane Bown - NPG P373

Samuel Beckett

by Jane Bown
bromide print, 1976
NPG P373

Samuel Beckett, by Paul Joyce - NPG P157

Samuel Beckett

by Paul Joyce
platinum print, 1979
NPG P157

Samuel Beckett, by Tom Phillips - NPG 6467

Samuel Beckett

by Tom Phillips
coloured lithograph, 1984
NPG 6467

Samuel Beckett, by Michael Peto - NPG x137676

Samuel Beckett

by Michael Peto
modern bromide print from original negative, May 1961
NPG x137676

'Encore Magazine' (Samuel Beckett), by Jerry Bauer - NPG x136874

'Encore Magazine' (Samuel Beckett)

by Jerry Bauer
magazine cover, 1962
NPG x136874

Samuel Beckett, by Unknown photographer - NPG x194046

Samuel Beckett

by Unknown photographer
bromide print, October 1966
NPG x194046

Samuel Beckett, by Unknown photographer - NPG x198373

Samuel Beckett

by Unknown photographer
gelatin silver print, 1966
NPG x198373

Samuel Beckett, by John Haynes - NPG x200698

Samuel Beckett

by John Haynes
platinum print, 1973
NPG x200698

Samuel Beckett, by Hugo Jehle - NPG x31097

Samuel Beckett

by Hugo Jehle
bromide print, circa 1981
NPG x31097

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