Steve McQueen
(1969-), Artist and film directorSir Steve Rodney McQueen
Sitter in 5 portraits
Artist of 1 portrait
Born to Grenadian and Trinidadian parents, McQueen was raised in Hanwell, West London. Despite his dyslexia and experiencing racism at school, he continued his studies at Goldsmiths, where he pursued a Fine Art degree and first became interested in film. McQueen's first major film, presented at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, was Bear (1993), a 10 minute silent film shot in black and white. He won the Turner Prize in 1999. His feature film Hunger (2008), about the 1981 Irish hunger strike, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. He was the first British director to win the 'Caméra d'Or' award for first-time directors at Cannes. In October 2016, McQueen was awarded the British Film Institute's highest honour, the BFI Fellowship. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture for 12 Years a Slave (2013) and was knighted in 2020.
by Eva Vermandel
chromogenic print, 29 April 2009
NPG x133048
'The British Council 70 Years at the Venice Biennale'
by Julian Germain
archival inkjet print, 21 October 2009
NPG x132893
by Charlie Phillips
gelatin silver print, 2020; printed 2022
On display in Room 33 on Floor 0 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG x201554
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