Sir Osbert Sitwell
3 of 61 portraits of Sir Osbert Sitwell
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Sir Osbert Sitwell
by Frank Owen Dobson
bronze head, 1994, based on a work of 1922
20 1/2 in. x 7 1/2 in. (520 mm x 190 mm) overall
Purchased, 1995
Primary Collection
NPG 6321
On display in Room 25 on Floor 2 at the National Portrait Gallery
Sitterback to top
- Sir (Francis) Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Bt (1892-1969), Writer. Sitter in 61 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Frank Owen Dobson (1886-1963), Sculptor. Artist or producer of 8 portraits, Sitter in 18 portraits.
This portraitback to top
Sitwell sat 'nearly every day for three months' for this portrait, during which his family were planning Facade; a reading of Dame Edith Sitwell's poem, commissioned by Osbert. Dobson designed the backdrop for the performance which took place at the Aeolian Hall in 1923, with music by composer William Walton.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Smartify image discovery app
- Curtis, Penelope; Funnell, Peter; Kalinsky, Nicola, Return to Life: A New Look at the Portrait Bust, 2000 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 7 February to 30 May 2001), p. 9
- Edited by Rab MacGibbon and Tanya Bentley, Icons and Identities, 2021, p. 105
- Gibson, Robin, 20th Century Portraits, 1978 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 9 June - 17 September 1978), p. 46
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 567
Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top
- Colour, Light, Texture: Portraits by Matthew Smith and Frank Dobson (5 August 2014 - 6 April 2015)
- Return to Life: A New Look at the Portrait Bust (7 February 2001 - 20 May 2001)
Events of 1922back to top
Current affairs
The British Broadcasting Company (later British Broadcasting Corporation) is established to experiment with radio broadcasting. It is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, providing radio, television and Internet services to the public in Britain and across the world.Art and science
1922 is a key year for modernist literature with the publication of James Joyce's novel, Ulysses and T.S. Eliot's poem, The Waste Land. Both broke new ground with Ulysses (loosely based on Homer's Odyssey) introducing the 'stream of consciousness' narrative technique, and The Waste Land experimenting with multiple voices and a patchwork of literary, historic, mythological and personal allusions.International
The Soviet Union is formed under Joseph Stalin who takes power after Lenin suffers a debilitating stroke.In an attempt to avoid civil war, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy invites Benito Mussolini to form a new government following the Fascist Party's March on Rome.
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