Virginia Woolf
(1882-1941), Novelist and critic; sister of Vanessa BellVirginia Woolf (née Stephen)
Sitter in 64 portraits
A central figure in the Bloomsbury group of writers, artists and intellectuals. In 1905, with her sister Vanessa, she hosted Thursday evening gatherings at 46 Gordon Square that formed the hub of Bloomsbury. Despite intermittent bouts of mental illness she was a major contributor to the development of the novel form in literature. Many of her novels, notably Night and Day, Jacob's Room, Mrs Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and The Waves, pioneered the use of the interior monologue, or 'stream of consciousness' and transformed ideas about structure, plot and characterisation. Her essay A Room of One's Own has become a classic of feminist literature. She committed suicide in 1941.
More on Woolf: Explore the portrait of Virginia Woolf by Stephen Tomlin (NPG 3882) from all angles |Art historian Frances Spalding on Woolf | Timeline | Woolf and Garsington | The Icons trail: discover the people who shaped the 20th Century
by George Charles Beresford
platinum print, July 1902
NPG P220
by George Charles Beresford
platinum print, July 1902
NPG P221
by George Charles Beresford
platinum print, July 1902
NPG P222
by George Charles Beresford
platinum print, July 1902
NPG P223
by Francis Dodd
chalk, 1908
NPG 3802
by Lafayette
matte bromide print, 7 February 1910
NPG P1293
by Stephen Tomlin
lead bust, 1953, based on a work of 1931
NPG 3882
Virginia Woolf; Angelica Garnett
by Ramsey & Muspratt
bromide print, 1932
NPG P363(21)
Angelica Garnett; Virginia Woolf
by Ramsey & Muspratt
bromide print, 1932
NPG P363(22)
Virginia Woolf; Leonard Sidney Woolf
by Gisèle Freund
colour print, 1939
NPG P439
acrylic on paper collaged on panels, 2021-2022
On display in Room 33 on Floor 0 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 7145
- Find out more >
- Buy a print
- Buy as a greetings card
- Use this image
- Recent acquisition
Virginia Woolf; Sir Leslie Stephen
by George Charles Beresford
sepia-toned platinotype, 1902
NPG x4600
by George Charles Beresford
platinum print, retouched and heightened, July 1902
NPG x27535
Lady Ottoline Morrell; Virginia Woolf; Lytton Strachey and an unknown man
by Unknown photographer
vintage snapshot print, 1910
NPG Ax13011
Lady Ottoline Morrell; Virginia Woolf; Lytton Strachey and an unknown man
by Unknown photographer
vintage snapshot print, 1910
NPG Ax140271
Noel Olivier; Maitland Radford; Virginia Woolf; Rupert Brooke
by Unknown photographer
carbon print, 1911
NPG x13124
by Lady Ottoline Morrell
vintage snapshot print, circa 1917
NPG Ax141319
Related People
- Julian Bell (nephew)
- Quentin Claudian Stephen Bell (nephew)
- Vanessa Bell (née Stephen) (sister)
- Angelica Vanessa Garnett (née Bell) (niece)
- (Karin) Judith Henderson (née Stephen) (niece)
- Adrian Stephen (brother)
- Sir James Stephen (grandfather)
- Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, 1st Bt (uncle)
- Julia Prinsep Stephen (née Jackson, formerly Mrs Duckworth) (mother)
- Sir Leslie Stephen (father)
- Thoby Stephen (brother)
- Ann Davies Synge (née Stephen) (niece)
- Leonard Sidney Woolf (husband)
Tell us more back to top
Can you tell us more about this person? Spotted an error, information that is missing (a sitter’s life dates, occupation or family relationships, or a date of portrait for example) or do you know anything that we don't know? If you have information to share please complete the form below.
If you require information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service. You can buy a print of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at £6 for unframed prints, £25 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, please use our Rights and Images service.
Please note that we cannot provide valuations.
We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.