Recent Acquisition: John Donne

From August 2006

John Donne, Elizabethan Poet
by an unknown English artist, c.1595
© National Portrait Gallery, London

'The most famous of all melancholy love portraits' Sir Roy Strong

Following the Gallery's successful public appeal earlier this year to raise the funds to purchase the amazing portrait of the Elizabethan poet, John Donne, we are delighted to announce that the painting is now on display for everyone to enjoy.

John Donne was one of the most talented writers of his age and his work, which encompassed poetry, verse letters, essays and sermons, including famous poems like The Flea, The Bait and A Valediction: forbidding Mourning, came to be widely celebrated.

Thanks to the support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Art Fund, Gallery visitors, friends and supporters you can now visit John Donne in the Tudor Galleries.

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All images and text are subject to copyright protection. 13 October 2008