21st Century Portraits
Past display archive
16 July - 28 October 2007
Room 38a
Free
Chris Orr
by James F. Hunkin
March 2001
NPG x128184
The sixteen photographs in this display reflect the wide variety of contemporary photographs recently acquired by the National Portrait Gallery. Each year the Photographs Collection acquires approximately 200 new photographs, from a cross-section of professional image-makers, which range from personal projects to commissioned works.
The majority of portrait photographs offered to the National Portrait Gallery have originally been commissioned by magazines and newspapers. John Reardon's award winning photograph of thirteen chefs posed in a tableaux resembling Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper was commissioned for the Observer Food Monthly and has been reproduced many times in other periodicals. This print is in an edition of thirteen.
In contrast, Ghanaian-born Sal Idriss is undertaking a personal project to photograph black British people that are recognised for significant achievement in their professions. His portrait of Sokari Douglas-Camp is one of twenty that the Gallery has collected to date. 1960s model-turned photographer, Jill Kennington, is currently undertaking a personal project photographing her contemporaries, one of which is the designer Margaret Howell.
Stella Vine (née Melissa Robson)
by Venetia Dearden
January 2004
NPG x127161
James Hunkin has recorded prominent people from different fields in a series of collections. His previous collections include theatre people for the Royal National Theatre (1997), religious leaders (Faces of Faith, 1997) and a collection of leading scientists, commissioned by NESTA for Science Year. (2001), examples of which are represented in the collection. The group of six artists shown here is part of a large ongoing commission by the Royal Academy to record all living Royal Academicians. A video interview showing James Hunkin can be seen on the Portrait Explorer in the IT Gallery.
Related portraits
- Chefs' Last Supper (NPG P1121)
- Geoffrey Clarke (NPG x128175)
- Robert Clatworthy (NPG x128176)
- Maurice Cockrill (NPG x128177)
- David Nash (NPG x128182)
- Chris Orr (NPG x128184)
- Mick Moon (NPG x128181)
- Katie Grand (NPG x128704)
- Stella Vine (née Melissa Robson) (NPG x127161)
- Imelda Staunton (NPG x128629)
- Belle & Sebastian (Sarah Martin; Mick Cooke; Chris Geddes; Bobby Kildea; Richard Colburn; Stuart Murdoch; Stevie Jackson) (NPG x131024)
- Allegra Hicks (NPG x131029)
- Samantha Morton (NPG x128627)
- Sokari Douglas Camp (NPG x128611)
- Orla Kiely (NPG x128757)
- Margaret Howell (NPG x129522)
Related sitters
- Tom Aikens
- Raymond René Blanc
- Michael Caines
- Eric Chavot
- Geoffrey Clarke
- Robert Clatworthy
- Maurice Cockrill
- Richard Colburn
- Mick Cooke
- Sokari Douglas Camp
- Chris Geddes
- Katie Grand
- Angela Hartnett
- Allegra Hicks
- Margaret Howell
- Stevie Jackson
- Orla Kiely
- Bobby Kildea
- Atul Kochhar
- Giorgio Locatelli
- Sarah Martin
- Michael ('Mick') Moon
- Samantha Morton
- Stuart Murdoch
- David John Nash
- Christopher John ('Chris') Orr
- Shane Osborn
- John Burton Race
- Gordon James Ramsay
- Gary Rhodes
- Michel Roux Jr
- Imelda Staunton
- Stella Vine (née Melissa Robson)
- Marcus Wareing