Amy Johnson
1 of 32 portraits of Amy Johnson
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Amy Johnson
by Sir John Longstaff
oil on canvas, 1930
27 1/4 in. x 22 1/2 in. (692 mm x 572 mm)
Given by L.C. Sedon-Thompson, 1961
Primary Collection
NPG 4201
On display in Room 25 on Floor 2 at the National Portrait Gallery
Artistback to top
- Sir John Longstaff (1862-1941), Painter. Artist or producer of 1 portrait, Sitter in 1 portrait.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Smartify image discovery app
- Cooper, John, A Guide to the National Portrait Gallery, 2009, p. 51 Read entry
Not only the first British woman to fly solo to Australia (1930), but also the first to be granted an aircraft ground engineer’s license. Johnson died in 1941, flying for the Air Transport Auxiliary.
- Flavia Frigeri, Women At Work: 1900 to Now, 2023, p. 66
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 339
Events of 1930back to top
Current affairs
Amy Johnson is the first woman to fly solo to Australia. She flew the 11,000 miles from Croydon to Darwin in a De Havilland Gipsy Moth named Jason and won the Harmon Trophy as well as a CBE for her achievement. She went on to break a number of other flying records, and died while serving in the Air Transport Auxiliary in 1941.Art and science
Noel Coward's play, Private Lives is first performed. The original run starred Gertrude Lawrence and Laurence Olivier as well as Coward himself. Private Lives became Coward's most enduringly successful play.International
Gandhi leads the Salt March. The march to the coast was a direct protest against the British monopoly on the sale of salt and inspired hordes of Indians to follow him and adopt his methods of Satyagraha (non-violent resistance to the British rule of India).Stalin orders the 'liquidation of the kulaks (wealthy farmers) as a class' in a violent attempt to centralise control of agriculture and collectivise farming.
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Desmond Markus
27 July 2016, 10:28
CORRECTION TO PREVIOUS
Date now appears to be (Sunday, 22/06/1930)
Register News-Pictorial (Adelaide, SA : 1929 - 1931), Saturday 21 June 1930, page 3
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/rendition/nla.news-article54239486.3.html?followup=289ca9704649bac443a00138e4c491d9&print=true
I have found the date that Amy Johnson sat for the painting (Monday, 23/06/1930):
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 24 June 1930, page 9
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/rendition/nla.news-article16701926.3.html?followup=5b479741de47668b6e9d14134b4e34b9&print=true
Desmond Markus
27 July 2016, 10:20
I have found the date that Amy Johnson sat for the painting (Monday, 23/06/1930):
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 24 June 1930, page 9
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/rendition/nla.news-article16701926.3.html?followup=5b479741de47668b6e9d14134b4e34b9&print=true
Desmond Markus
18 July 2018, 12:20
Please be advised that the National Library of Australia's Trove site has changed so that the URLs previously given no longer work.
However, the articles are still online, details below (headlines of the article the information appears in is given in square brackets):
Register News-Pictorial (Adelaide, SA : 1929 - 1931), Saturday 21 June 1930, page 3 [Amy Johnson's Adelaide Plans]
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 24 June 1930, page 9 [Amy Johnson - Message to Children - "Work with a smile"]