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Sir Edwin Lutyens

6 of 28 portraits of Sir Edwin Lutyens

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Sir Edwin Lutyens

by Robert Lutyens
oil on canvas, 1959
10 in. x 9 in. (254 mm x 229 mm)
Given by Robert Lutyens, 1966
Primary Collection
NPG 4481

Sitterback to top

  • Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944), Architect and President of the Royal Academy. Sitter associated with 28 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • Robert Lutyens (1901-1972), Artist. Artist or producer of 11 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.

This portraitback to top

The posthumous portrait by his son, depicting Lutyens in the mid 1930s, was painted because the artist felt every other portrait made his father look 'over-serious'. 'He was in fact,' the artist told the National Portrait Gallery, 'the least solemn man that ever lived, and banished boredom more effectively than anyone I ever knew'.

Linked publicationsback to top

Events of 1959back to top

Current affairs

Harold Macmillan wins the general election with an increased majority, returning to office as Conservative prime minister. The victory was the result of perceived economic improvement under the Conservative government, and his (misquoted) boast: 'you've never had it so good.' During his premiership he earned the nickname 'Supermac', coined by cartoonist, Victor 'Vicky' Weisz.

Art and science

Claudia Jones organises the first West Indian-style carnival in the country, starting the tradition of the annual Notting Hill carnival. The event was a response to the race riots of 1958, and an attempt to celebrate West Indian culture and help overcome racial prejudice by giving the whole community the opportunity to join in the event.

International

Fidel Castro becomes leader of Cuba. After defeating the American-backed Batista government, Castro's revolutionary army arrived in Havana on 8th January where Castro proclaimed himself Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Within a month, Prime Minister José Miró Cardona had resigned, and Castro took over.
In Tibet, an uprising against Chinese rule is brutally crushed, and the Dalai Lama flees to India, beginning his long exile.

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