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Aldous Huxley

(1894-1963), Novelist

Sitter in 114 portraits
Huxley was arguably Britain’s best-known novelist of the inter-war years. His reputation followed the success of Brave New World (1932), which, set 500 years in the future, conjured a nightmare vision of an overpopulated society that has resorted to biological engineering. It followed a string of satirical works: Crome Yellow (1921), Antic Hay (1923) and Those Barren Leaves (1925). Huxley later moved to the USA, where, partly due to interest in Hindu Vedantist ideas, his writing turned to pacifism, metaphysics and the potential of human capability. This plays out in Ends and Means (1937) and the autobiographical The Doors of Perception (1953), written under the influence of the hallucinogenic drug mescaline.

Watch a film clip on the sitter from the BBC Archive in the Media section below

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Aldous Huxley, by Alfred Wolmark - NPG 4485

Aldous Huxley

by Alfred Wolmark
ink, 1928
NPG 4485

Aldous Huxley, by Paul Hamann - NPG 5403

Aldous Huxley

by Paul Hamann
bronze life-mask, 1981, based on a work of 1930
NPG 5403

Aldous Huxley, by Vanessa Bell - NPG 6717

Aldous Huxley

by Vanessa Bell
oil on canvas, circa 1931
On display in Room 31 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 6717

Aldous Huxley, by Sir David Low - NPG 4529(175)

Aldous Huxley

by Sir David Low
pencil, 1933
NPG 4529(175)

Aldous Huxley, by Sir David Low - NPG 4529(173)

Aldous Huxley

by Sir David Low
pencil, 1933 or before
NPG 4529(173)

Aldous Huxley, by Sir David Low - NPG 4529(174)

Aldous Huxley

by Sir David Low
pencil, 1933 or before
NPG 4529(174)

Aldous Huxley, by Sir David Low - NPG 4529(176)

Aldous Huxley

by Sir David Low
pencil, 1933 or before
NPG 4529(176)

Aldous Huxley, by Man Ray - NPG P359

Aldous Huxley

by Man Ray
bromide print, 26 November 1934
NPG P359

Aldous Huxley, by Howard Coster - NPG P714

Aldous Huxley

by Howard Coster
gelatin silver print, 1934
NPG P714

Aldous Huxley, by Cecil Beaton - NPG P869(17)

Aldous Huxley

by Cecil Beaton
vintage bromide print on white card mount, 1936
NPG P869(17)

Aldous Huxley, by George Platt Lynes - NPG P1686

Aldous Huxley

by George Platt Lynes
gelatin silver print, 1946
NPG P1686

Aldous Huxley, by Maria Petrie (née Zimmern) - NPG 5282

Aldous Huxley

by Maria Petrie (née Zimmern)
bronze head, 1959
NPG 5282

Lady Ottoline Morrell with friends, possibly by Philip Edward Morrell - NPG Ax140544

Lady Ottoline Morrell with friends

possibly by Philip Edward Morrell
vintage snapshot print, 1916
NPG Ax140544

Lady Ottoline Morrell with friends, possibly by Philip Edward Morrell - NPG Ax140545

Lady Ottoline Morrell with friends

possibly by Philip Edward Morrell
vintage snapshot print, 1916
NPG Ax140545

Garsington visitors, by Lady Ottoline Morrell - NPG Ax140546

Garsington visitors

by Lady Ottoline Morrell
vintage snapshot print, 1916
NPG Ax140546

Aldous Huxley, by Lady Ottoline Morrell - NPG Ax140505

Aldous Huxley

by Lady Ottoline Morrell
vintage snapshot print, 1917
NPG Ax140505

(Arthur) Richard Murry; Aldous Huxley, by Lady Ottoline Morrell - NPG Ax140507

(Arthur) Richard Murry; Aldous Huxley

by Lady Ottoline Morrell
vintage snapshot print, 1917
NPG Ax140507

Madeline Clinkard; Aldous Huxley; Mark Gertler; Philip Edward Morrell, by Lady Ottoline Morrell - NPG Ax140530

Madeline Clinkard; Aldous Huxley; Mark Gertler; Philip Edward Morrell

by Lady Ottoline Morrell
vintage snapshot print, 1917
NPG Ax140530

Aldous Huxley, by Lady Ottoline Morrell - NPG Ax140532

Aldous Huxley

by Lady Ottoline Morrell
vintage snapshot print, 1917
NPG Ax140532

Aldous Huxley; Philip Edward Morrell, by Lady Ottoline Morrell - NPG Ax140533

Aldous Huxley; Philip Edward Morrell

by Lady Ottoline Morrell
vintage snapshot print, 1917
NPG Ax140533

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