Kingsley Amis
(1922-1995), NovelistSir Kingsley William Amis
Sitter in 32 portraits
Born in London and educated at Oxford, Amis combined writing with lecturing English at Swansea (1949-61), Cambridge (1961-3) and later in the USA. His first novel Lucky Jim (1954), a satire on academic, middle-class life, was an immediate success and linked him to other so-called Angry Young Men. Later novels include Take a Girl Like You (1960), Jake's Thing (1978) and the Booker prize-winning The Old Devils (1986). Despite the contemporary nature of his work, Amis took an increasingly conservative and acerbic view of life. At Cambridge he began a relationship with the writer Elizabeth Jane Howard, which caused a split from his family, though his son Martin Amis later credited her with encouraging his writing.
by Gordon Stuart
oil on canvasboard, 1953
NPG 6334
Kingsley Amis; Elizabeth Jane Howard
by Lord Snowdon
gelatin silver print, 6 December 1973
NPG P1845
by Dmitri Kasterine
modern bromide print from original negative, 2009, based on a work of 1975
NPG P1320
by Daniel Farson
modern bromide print, 18 June 1956
NPG x135683
by Daniel Farson
modern bromide print, 18 June 1956
NPG x135684
by Mark Gerson
modern bromide print, June 1957
NPG x88202
by Ida Kar
vintage bromide print, late 1950s
NPG x88538
by Ida Kar
vintage bromide print, late 1950s
NPG x88539
by Ida Kar
vintage bromide print, late 1950s
NPG x88540
by Ida Kar
vintage bromide print, late 1950s
NPG x88541
Elizabeth Jane Howard; Kingsley Amis
by Horst Tappe
gelatin silver print, 1965
NPG x198382
Kingsley Amis; Elizabeth Jane Howard
by Francis Goodman
2 1/4 inch square film negative, 1966
NPG x131052
Elizabeth Jane Howard; Kingsley Amis
by Francis Goodman
2 1/4 inch square film negative, 1966
NPG x131053
Elizabeth Jane Howard; Kingsley Amis
by Francis Goodman
2 1/4 inch square film negative, 1966
NPG x131054
Kingsley Amis; Elizabeth Jane Howard
by Francis Goodman
2 1/4 inch square film negative, 1966
NPG x131055
by J.S. Lewinski
bromide print on card mount, 1967
NPG x13700
by Godfrey Argent
bromide print, 8 October 1969
NPG x163583
Related People
- Martin Louis Amis (son)
- Philip Amis (son)
- Sally Myfanwy Amis (daughter)
- Elizabeth Jane Howard (wife)
- Hilary ('Hilly') Ann Bardwell (née Sidney), Lady Kilmarnock (wife)
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