Search the Collection

Art Fund Popular Portraits


34 Portraits in set

Objects purchased using an Art Fund New Collecting Award to acquire popular, global and ephemeral portraits for the National Portrait Gallery. Commenced in 2017, this project aims to collect portraits made, owned, displayed and viewed by ordinary people from the medieval period to the present. With a particular focus on pre-1600 material, it explores the ways in which identity was understood and expressed before painted portraiture arrived in Britain in the sixteenth century. Other themes, including ceramic as a medium for portraiture, social and cultural diversity and national heroes will be explored up to the present day. The project aims to demonstrate the impact of portraiture on our everyday visual experience by collecting objects with a range of functions from propaganda to memorialisation.

List Thumbnail

Unknown sitter ('Floor tile with an image of a king or queen'), by Unknown artist - NPG D48194

Unknown sitter ('Floor tile with an image of a king or queen')

by Unknown artist
earthenware floor tile, lead-glazed, 14th century
NPG D48194

Unknown man ('carved wooden roof boss'), by Unknown artist - NPG D48634

Unknown man ('carved wooden roof boss')

by Unknown artist
carved elm roof boss, 15th century
On display in Room 1 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG D48634

King William III; Queen Mary II, by Unknown artist - NPG D48625

King William III; Queen Mary II

by Unknown artist
tin-glazed earthenware, painted, circa 1689-1695
On display in Room 7 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG D48625

William Shakespeare, by Derby Porcelain Factory - NPG D48654

William Shakespeare

by Derby Porcelain Factory
soft paste porcelain, circa 1770
NPG D48654

Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, by Unknown artist - NPG D48191

Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

by Unknown artist
lead glazed and printed earthenware, circa 1820
NPG D48191

Billy Waters, by Unknown artist - NPG D48192

Billy Waters

by Unknown artist
glazed earthenware, circa 1840
On display in Room 13 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG D48192

Ellen Eliza Blight (Bright) ('Death of the Lion Queen'), by Unknown artist - NPG D48193

Ellen Eliza Blight (Bright) ('Death of the Lion Queen')

by Unknown artist
glazed earthenware, circa 1850
On display in Room 13 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG D48193

William Shakespeare, by Unknown artist - NPG D48655

William Shakespeare

by Unknown artist
Staffordshire pottery bust, circa 1860s
On display in Room 13 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG D48655

Queen Victoria, by Unknown artist - NPG D48622

Queen Victoria

by Unknown artist
transfer-printed and hand-coloured earthenware, 1887
NPG D48622

Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (King Edward VIII), designed by Dame Laura Knight, manufactured by  Burgess & Leigh Limited (Burleigh) - NPG D48190

Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (King Edward VIII)

designed by Dame Laura Knight, manufactured by Burgess & Leigh Limited (Burleigh)
printed and painted earthenware, 1936
On display in Room 13 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG D48190

Winston Churchill, by Arnold Machin, for  Wedgwood and Bentley - NPG D48652

Winston Churchill

by Arnold Machin, for Wedgwood and Bentley
transfer relief moulded ceramic mug, 1941
NPG D48652

Franklin D. Roosevelt, by Arnold Machin, for  Wedgwood and Bentley - NPG D48653

Franklin D. Roosevelt

by Arnold Machin, for Wedgwood and Bentley
transfer relief moulded ceramic mug, 1941
NPG D48653

Queen Elizabeth II; William Shakespeare (on verso), after Harry Norman Eccleston, after  William Kent - NPG D48662

Queen Elizabeth II; William Shakespeare (on verso)

after Harry Norman Eccleston, after William Kent
steel engraved currency note, 1970-1991
NPG D48662

Queen Elizabeth II ('God Save the Queen'), by Jamie Reid, after  Peter Grugeon, for  The Sex Pistols - NPG D48055

Queen Elizabeth II ('God Save the Queen')

by Jamie Reid, after Peter Grugeon, for The Sex Pistols
record sleeve, 1977
NPG D48055

King Charles III; Diana, Princess of Wales, by Unknown artist - NPG D48063

King Charles III; Diana, Princess of Wales

by Unknown artist
printed textile, 1981
NPG D48063

Olive Morris, by Rob Adderley, and  Ceri Buckmaster, and  Staffan Gnosspelius - NPG D48057

Olive Morris

by Rob Adderley, and Ceri Buckmaster, and Staffan Gnosspelius
currency note, 2009
NPG D48057

James Ephraim Lovelock, by Rob Adderley, and  Ceri Buckmaster, and  Staffan Gnosspelius - NPG D48058

James Ephraim Lovelock

by Rob Adderley, and Ceri Buckmaster, and Staffan Gnosspelius
currency note, 2009
NPG D48058

C.L.R. James, by Rob Adderley, and  Ceri Buckmaster, and  Staffan Gnosspelius - NPG D48059

C.L.R. James

by Rob Adderley, and Ceri Buckmaster, and Staffan Gnosspelius
currency note, 2009
NPG D48059

Vincent Van Gogh, by Rob Adderley, and  Ceri Buckmaster, and  Staffan Gnosspelius - NPG D48060

Vincent Van Gogh

by Rob Adderley, and Ceri Buckmaster, and Staffan Gnosspelius
currency note, 2009
NPG D48060

Luol Ajou Deng, by This Ain't Rock 'N' Roll - NPG D48061

Luol Ajou Deng

by This Ain't Rock 'N' Roll
currency note, 2011
NPG D48061

Violette Reine Elizabeth Szabo (née Bushell), by This Ain't Rock 'N' Roll, after  Unknown artist - NPG D48062

Violette Reine Elizabeth Szabo (née Bushell)

by This Ain't Rock 'N' Roll, after Unknown artist
currency note, 2011
NPG D48062

William Shakespeare ('William Shakespeare Lego Minifigure'), by Unknown artist - NPG D48054

William Shakespeare ('William Shakespeare Lego Minifigure')

by Unknown artist
moulded plastic Lego figure, 2014
NPG D48054

William Shakespeare ('Shakespeare Duck'), by Unknown artist - NPG D48052

William Shakespeare ('Shakespeare Duck')

by Unknown artist
moulded plastic, 2018
NPG D48052

Jeremy Corbyn ('#JezWeCan'), by Unknown artist - NPG D48056

Jeremy Corbyn ('#JezWeCan')

by Unknown artist
printed pin badge, 2018
NPG D48056

Jeremy Corbyn ('JEZ WE CAN!'), by Unknown artist - NPG D48056a

Jeremy Corbyn ('JEZ WE CAN!')

by Unknown artist
printed pin badge, 2018
NPG D48056a

'When Harry met Meghan' (Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex; Meghan, Duchess of Sussex), by Dan Evans, published by  Octopus Publishing Group Ltd - NPG D48664

'When Harry met Meghan' (Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex; Meghan, Duchess of Sussex)

by Dan Evans, published by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd
colour offset lithographically printed book, published 2018
NPG D48664

Web image not currently available

'God Save the Queen' by the Sex Pistols

published by Virgin Records
7" vinyl record, 1977
NPG D48055.1