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King George VI

7 of 562 portraits of King George VI

© National Portrait Gallery, London; private collection

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King George VI

by Meredith Frampton
oil on canvas, 1929
52 1/2 in. x 46 3/4 in. (1333.5 mm x 1187.45 mm) overall
Lent by Trustees of Barnardo's, 1997
Primary Collection
NPG L214

On display in Room 19 on Floor 2 at the National Portrait Gallery

Sitterback to top

  • King George VI (1895-1952), Reigned 1936-52. Sitter associated with 562 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • Meredith Frampton (1894-1984), Painter. Artist or producer of 4 portraits, Sitter in 6 portraits.

This portraitback to top

This portrait was painted while George was still Duke of York to mark his presidency of Dr Barnardo's Homes, the charity set up in the nineteenth century to care for vulnerable children. It was commissioned by the artist's father, Sir George Frampton, who was actively involved in supplying works of art to Barnardo's Homes. Sittings for the portrait took place in Meredith Frampton's studio in St John's Wood, London, who shows the Duke in the full uniform of a Royal Navy Captain.

Linked publicationsback to top

  • Cannadine, Sir David (Introduction); Cooper, Tarnya; Stewart, Louise; MacGibbon, Rab; Cox, Paul; Peltz, Lucy; Moorhouse, Paul; Broadley, Rosie; Jascot-Gill, Sabina, Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits, 2018 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA, 7 October 2018 -3 February 2019. Bendigo Art Gallery, Australia, 16 March - 14 July 2019.), p. 55

Placesback to top

Events of 1929back to top

Current affairs

The first election held under universal suffrage is a victory for Labour. Ramsay Macdonald returned for his second term as Prime Minster, and appointed Margaret Grace Bondfield as the first woman Cabinet Minister.

Art and science

Two classic books about the First World War are published: All Quiet on the Western Front, by war veteran, Erich Maria Remarque, tells of the horrors of war and the returning German soldiers' feelings of detachment from civilian life; while Robert Grave's autobiography Goodbye to All That, aimed to describe the author's experiences of the war so that they 'need never be thought about again'.

International

The 24th October 1929 becomes known as Black Thursday when the US Stock Exchange Collapses and millions are lost. The event was the start of the Wall Street Crash, which in turn contributed towards the Great Depression: a major international recession that lasted through most of the 1930s.

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