1 OF 8

A.S. Byatt

1 of 8 portraits of A.S. Byatt

A.S. Byatt

by Patrick Heron
charcoal, 1995
19 3/4 in. x 13 3/4 in. (501 mm x 350 mm)
Commissioned, 1998
Primary Collection
NPG 6414a

Sitterback to top

Dame Antonia Susan ('A.S.') Byatt (1936-), Novelist, critic and editor. Sitter in 8 portraits.

Artistback to top

Patrick Heron (1920-1999), Painter and art critic. Artist of 5 portraits, Sitter in 15 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Painted in his St. Ives studio, Heron's distinction as a leading abstract artist was relevant to the sitter's wishes: 'What I wanted was the presence of the idea of me'. Byatt described the portrait as 'a picture of what I really feel like when I am working at full speed. It is a portrait of somebody who might conceivably write a book.'

Related worksback to top

NPG 6414: A.S. Byatt (Portrait of A S Byatt : Red, Yellow, Green and Blue : 24 September 1997) (finished work)
NPG x87732: A.S. Byatt; Patrick Heron (includes the portrait)

Linked publicationsback to top

Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 95

Placesback to top

Place made: United Kingdom: England, Cornwall (artist's studio, Porthmeor Studios, St Ives, Cornwall)

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1995back to top

Current affairs

Nick Leeson is imprisoned for four years after he is found to have hidden $1.4 billion in debt. Leeson acted as a 'rogue trader' by dealing in futures and options on the Tokyo stock exchange without the authority of Barings Bank who he was working for. After an earthquake in Japan the market took a massive downturn and Barings - Britain's oldest bank - went bankrupt.

Art and science

Two classic Britpop singles fight for the number 1 spot when Blur releases Country House on the same day as Oasis's Roll With It. Although Blur sold more copies of their single, Oasis eclipsed them when their album (What's the Story) Morning Glory became the forth best selling UK album of all time.
Jonathan Edwards breaks the world record for triple jump twice in once day.

International

Over 8000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys are murdered by the Bosnian Serb army in the Srebrenica Massacre. The genocide was part of Serbia's ethnic cleansing campaign to remove the Bosniak population from the Serb Republic. It was the largest mass-murder in Europe since World War II.
12 people die, and 54 are seriously injured when members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult release Sarin gas into the Tokyo subway.

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