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Sir John Betjeman

(1906-1984), Poet Laureate, writer and broadcaster

Sitter in 41 portraits
Born in London of Dutch origin, Betjeman was a friend of W.H. Auden and Louis MacNeice at Oxford. He began writing for the Architectural Review in 1931. At the Architectural Press he proposed the Shell Guides and became the series editor. As an early champion of Victorian architecture, Betjeman exercised, as he put it, his own 'topographical predeliction for suburbs and gaslights and Pont Street and Gothic Revival churches and mineral railways, provincial towns and garden cities'. His published poetry includes A Few Late Chrysanthemums (1954), the blank verse autobiography Summoned by Bells (1960), and A Nip in the Air, published in 1972, the year he became Poet Laureate.

Explore the portrait of Sir John Betjeman by Angela Conner (NPG 5778) from all angles

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Sir John Betjeman, by Lewis Morley - NPG P512(3)

Sir John Betjeman

by Lewis Morley
bromide print, 1970
NPG P512(3)

Sir John Betjeman, by Angela Conner - NPG 5778

Sir John Betjeman

by Angela Conner
bronze bust, 1973
On display in Room 28 on Floor 2 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 5778

Sir John Betjeman, by Arnold Newman - NPG P150(6)

Sir John Betjeman

by Arnold Newman
bromide print, 1978
NPG P150(6)

Sir John Betjeman, by John Gay - NPG x126619

Sir John Betjeman

by John Gay
vintage bromide print, published March 1954 (1949)
NPG x126619

Sir John Betjeman, by Rollie McKenna - NPG x137168

Sir John Betjeman

by Rollie McKenna
bromide print, 1950s
NPG x137168

Sir John Betjeman, by Howard Coster - NPG x25955

Sir John Betjeman

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25955

Sir John Betjeman, by Howard Coster - NPG x25956

Sir John Betjeman

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25956

Sir John Betjeman, by Howard Coster - NPG x25957

Sir John Betjeman

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25957

Sir John Betjeman, by Howard Coster - NPG x25958

Sir John Betjeman

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25958

Sir John Betjeman, by Howard Coster - NPG x25959

Sir John Betjeman

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25959

Sir John Betjeman, by Howard Coster - NPG x25960

Sir John Betjeman

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25960

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