John Gielgud
(1904-2000), Actor and theatre directorSir John Gielgud
Sitter in 123 portraits
Born into a theatrical tradition - Ellen Terry was his great aunt and his father's Polish grandmother was also an actress. He made his professional debut in 1921 at the Old Vic and it was there that his performances in Richard II and Hamlet in 1929 propelled him to fame. Gielgud's fame before the War was as a Shakespearean actor and director, skills he re-deployed in the triumphant one-man Shakespeare recital, Ages of Man, with which he toured the world in 1959. A versatile talent, he directed and played in Christopher Fry's The Lady's Not for Burning in 1949. He won an Oscar for his film role in Arthur (1981). As late as 1998 he starred in The Titchborne Claimant.
John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'
by Yvonne Gregory
bromide print, 20 January 1933
NPG P140(31)
by Bern Schwartz
dye transfer print, 1 May 1977
NPG P1173
by Bern Schwartz
dye transfer print, 1 May 1977
NPG P1174
John Gielgud; Sir Ralph Richardson
by Arnold Newman
bromide print, 1978
NPG P150(41)
by David Remfry
oil on canvas, 1984
NPG 5780
by Sybil Clay
bromide postcard print, 1929-1931
NPG x198113
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