David Robert Joseph Beckham ('David')

David Robert Joseph Beckham ('David')

by Sam Taylor-Wood
digital video displayed on plasma screen, 2004
Commissioned, 2004
Primary Collection
NPG 6661

Sitter

David Robert Joseph Beckham (1975-), Footballer. Sitter in 5 portraits.

Artist

Sam Taylor-Wood (1967-), Artist. Artist of 2 portraits, Sitter in 5 portraits.

This Portrait

Like Brontosaurus, 1995, an early work now in the Tate collection, David is an intimate and collaborative film, which was shot with only the artist and subject present. Although Taylor-Wood has employed actors and celebrity friends to produce ambitious staged conversation pieces, in this portrait she returns to the idea of a naturalistic scene shot in real time. Referencing Andy Warhol, the scenario is real rather than constructed; Beckham was filmed sleeping at siesta time, exhausted after a long morning's training. Simply lit with one lamp in a darkened room, the result is a reverential and vulnerable image of this national icon, a far cry from his familiar public image as footballer and celebrity.

Linked Publications

Cooper, John, A Guide to the National Portrait Gallery, 2009, p. 61
Howgate, Sarah and Nairne, Sandy, A Guide to Contemporary Portraits, 2009, p. 7
Nairne, Sandy; Howgate, Sarah, The Portrait Now, 2006

Subjects & Themes

Commissions - Film and Mixed media
Sleeping