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Kathleen Ferrier

(1912-1953), Singer

Sitter in 15 portraits
The contralto Kathleen Ferrier was one of the most renowned and popular singers of her generation. Her career was tragically short with little more than a decade separating her discovery, while working as a Post Office telephonist, to her death aged forty-one at the height of her fame. Her distinctive voice was characterised by a natural sound achieved with little formal training. Among her most celebrated performances were roles in Glück's Orfeo ed Euridice, Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius and Benjamin Britten's opera The Rape of Lucretia (1946), the title role of which was written for her.

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Kathleen Ferrier

by Maurice Frederick Codner
oil on canvas, 1946
NPG 6258

Kathleen Ferrier

by Bernard Dunstan
chalk, 1950
NPG 5040(3)

Kathleen Ferrier; Bruno Walter

by Bernard Dunstan
pencil and chalk, 1950
NPG 5040(1)

Kathleen Ferrier

by Bernard Dunstan
chalk, 1950
NPG 5040(2)

Kathleen Ferrier

by Bernard Dunstan
pencil, 1950
NPG 5040(4)

Kathleen Ferrier and an unknown sitter

by Bernard Dunstan
pencil, 1950
NPG 5040(5)

Kathleen Ferrier

by Bernard Dunstan
pencil, 1950
NPG 5040(6)

Kathleen Ferrier

by Bernard Dunstan
pencil, 1950
NPG 5040(7)

Kathleen Ferrier

by Bernard Dunstan
pencil, 1950
NPG 5040(8)

Kathleen Ferrier at a Concert

by Bernard Dunstan
oil on board, 1950
NPG 5043

Kathleen Ferrier

by Bernard Dunstan
pencil, 1950
NPG 5040(7a)

Kathleen Ferrier

by Bernard Dunstan
pencil, 1950
NPG 5040(8a)

Kathleen Ferrier

by Cecil Beaton
vintage bromide print on white card mount, 1952
NPG P869(13)

Peter Pears; Kathleen Ferrier; Benjamin Britten

by Unknown photographer
bromide print, 1952
NPG x15229

Kathleen Ferrier

by Norman Parkinson
bromide print on card mount, 1952
NPG x30024

Groups

Place

London

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Kathleen Ferrier

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