Search the Collection

V.S. Naipaul

(1932-2018), Novelist

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad ('V.S.') Naipaul

Sitter in 5 portraits
Trinidadian-born, of Indian descent, Naipaul's father was a journalist, giving him an early appreciation of reading and writing. On finishing school in Trinidad, he won a scholarship to study at Oxford University, where he met his future wife, critic and editor of his works, Patricia Ann Hale. His first novel The Mystic Masseur (1957) was followed by A House for Mr Biswas (1961), considered his most autobiographical and successful novel. Naipaul's literary themes include identity, exile and post-colonialism; he won the Booker Prize with In a Free State (1971). A prolific writer, he has published over thirty books in five decades. Knighted in 1990, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.

 Like voting
is closed

Thanks for Liking

Please Like other favourites!
If they inspire you please support our work.

Make a donation Close

List Thumbnail

V.S. Naipaul, by Lord Snowdon - NPG P832

V.S. Naipaul

by Lord Snowdon
vintage bromide print, 16 July 1979
NPG P832

V.S. Naipaul, by Derry Moore, 12th Earl of Drogheda - NPG x126965

V.S. Naipaul

by Derry Moore, 12th Earl of Drogheda
bromide fibre print, 1972
NPG x126965

V.S. Naipaul, by David Harrison - NPG x76055

V.S. Naipaul

by David Harrison
chromogenic print, 1994
NPG x76055

Image currently unavailable owing to copyright restrictions

V.S. Naipaul

by Bill Brandt
bromide print, 1976
On display in Room 28 on Floor 2 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG x22450

Comments back to top

We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.

If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.