Jawaharlal Nehru
1 portrait of Jawaharlal Nehru
Photograph © National Portrait Gallery, London
Jawaharlal Nehru
by Jacob Epstein
bronze bust, 1948
15 in. x 16 1/2 in. (380 mm x 420 mm) overall
Purchased, 2011
Primary Collection
NPG 6905
On display in Room 28 on Floor 2 at the National Portrait Gallery
Sitterback to top
- Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), First Prime Minister of India; son of Pandit Motilal Nehru. Sitter associated with 19 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Sir Jacob Epstein (1880-1959), Sculptor. Artist or producer of 15 portraits, Sitter in 71 portraits.
This portraitback to top
Epstein started work on this bust of Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, when Nehru visited England for the Commonwealth Conference of 1946: ‘At this time, soon after the assassination of Gandhi [in 1948], Nehru seemed burdened with the cares of office, and it was in this mood that I conceived this sombre portrait’. Explore this portrait from all angles.
Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top
- Jacob Epstein: Portrait Sculptor (30 March 2013 - 24 November 2013)
Events of 1948back to top
Current affairs
Prince Charles is born in Buckingham Palace; he is the first son of Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of EdinburghThe Secretary of State for Health, Aneurin Bevan, introduces the National Health Service. Health services in Britain were now funded from central taxation and free at the point of use for every resident of the country.
Art and science
The First Morris Minor car designed by Alec Issigonis and his team (also responsible for the Mini) takes to the road, becoming a popular and classic English design.F.R. Leavis publishes his influential study of the English novel, The Great Tradition. The book set out Leavis's ideas on the proper relationship between literary form and moral concern.
International
The policy of Apartheid is adopted in South Africa. Apartheid was a set of laws allowing racial segregation and discrimination against the black majority by the white ruling class.As part of the dispute between Western and Soviet controlled Berlin, the Soviet Union blockades West Berlin, cutting off supplies. Anxious to avoid a conflict, America, Britain and France responded by flying in food and other provisions.
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