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The Gallery holds the most extensive collection of portraits in the world. Search over 215,000 works, 150,000 of which are illustrated from the 16th Century to the present day.

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20th Century posts

The First World War through a woman's lens: Olive Edis and Madame Yevonde

This has been a year of significant anniversaries: 11 November 2018 marks the centenary of the end of the First World War and on 6 February this year Britain celebrated 100 years since the Representation of the People Act granted some women the right to vote. The coming-together of these two anniversaries offers an opportunity to reflect on the part played by two professional women photographers in the First World War: Madame Yevonde and Olive Edis, whose high-profile work is held in the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. …

By George Mind, Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Student, Photographs

06 November 2018

Malala Yousafzai by Shirin Neshat

Malala

We are delighted to welcome into the collection a portrait of girls’ education activist Malala Yousafzai by acclaimed Iranian-born artist and filmmaker, Shirin Neshat.…

By National Portrait Gallery,

03 October 2018

Frank Norman with five actors, including Dudley Sutton, rehearsing 'Fings ain't wot they used t'be'

Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be

Can you help us complete the Who’s Who in this photograph by Ida Kar?…

By National Portrait Gallery,

19 September 2018

Todd Gray

Todd Gray: Michael Jackson's official photographer

We caught up with the artist Todd Gray to talk about the artwork he created for Michael Jackson: On the Wall, and his time spent with Michael Jackson as the singer's official photographer.…

By National Portrait Gallery,

04 September 2018

Self-portrait (with Nazi badge between her teeth) by Claude Cahun, 1945. Jersey Heritage Collections © Jersey Heritage

Claude Cahun: Freedom Fighter

Claude Cahun lived her life in a spirit of rebellion and defiance. From her precocious teenage years as Lucy Schwob, defying conventional ideals of beauty and femininity with her shaven head and male attire, to her direct resistance of German occupying forces, she actively worked against the suppression of liberty and freedom - a life of resistance, which is encapsulated by the portrait above, taken in May 1945.…

By Louise Downie, Curation and Experience Director, Jersey Heritage

09 May 2017

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley by Frederick Henry Evans circa 1894 NPG P114

Aubrey Beardsley: A Gargoyle on Notre Dame

Currently on display in ‘Aubrey Beardsley: Artist and Aesthete’ is an iconic portrait of the notorious illustrator Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) adopting the pose of a gargoyle. The gargoyle in question, known as ‘Le Stryge’ or ‘The Vampire’, sits on the south tower of Notre Dame Cathedral overlooking Paris and Tour St Jacques, his beaked profile cupped in the long fingers of his hands.…

By Lucy Dahlsen, Associate Curator, 20th Century - Contemporary

30 November 2015