Sir David Attenborough; Richard Attenborough
2 of 8 portraits of Sir David Attenborough
Sir David Attenborough; Richard Attenborough
by Ivy Smith
oil on canvas, 1989
59 7/8 in. x 49 in. (1522 mm x 1245 mm)
Commissioned as part of the First Prize, 1986 John Player Portrait Award, 1989
Primary Collection
NPG 6073
Sittersback to top
- Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (1923-2014), Actor, producer and director; brother of Sir David Attenborough. Sitter in 10 portraits. Identify
- Sir David Attenborough (1926-), Naturalist and broadcaster. Sitter in 8 portraits. Identify
This portraitback to top
Both men are keen art collectors. The African sculpture, which belongs to David Attenborough, is a 'Merekun', an ancestral lineage puppet (symbolising the family, to which the tribal priest can add smaller figures) made by the Bambrar people of Mali. The painting is by Victor Pasmore and belongs to his brother. Commissioned by the Trustees as part of the First Prize, John Player Portrait Award, 1981.
Related worksback to top
Linked publicationsback to top
- Smartify image discovery app
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 22
Subjects & Themesback to top
Events of 1989back to top
Current affairs
96 people are crushed to death at the Hillsborough football stadium in Sheffield. The accident took place when Liverpool fans were all let into the stadium at once. Incoming crowds crushed people against a fence used to prevent pitch-invasions. Following the Taylor Report into the incident standing terraces and fences between fans and pitch were banned.Art and science
Following the publication of Anglo-Indian writer Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses in 1988, the leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, announces that the book is 'blasphemous against Islam' and places a fatwah (death sentence) on Rushdie, who is forced into hiding for several years.International
The Berlin Wall is dismantled, reunifying East and West Germany and symbolising the end of the Cold War. Following a decision to allow East Berliners to cross the border with valid visas, crowds swarmed the border crossings. Guards soon gave up trying to stop them, and the physical dismantlement of the wall soon began.Approximately 2,000 Chinese demonstrators are massacred in Tiananmen Square while protesting against the government.
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