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Unknown man; Francis Poulenc; Benjamin Britten

1 of 2 portraits of Francis Poulenc

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Unknown man; Francis Poulenc; Benjamin Britten

by Felix H. Man
bromide print, 1945
11 1/8in. x 8 3/8in. (283 mm x 213 mm)
Photographs Collection
NPG x76594

Sittersback to top

Artistback to top

  • Felix H. Man (Hans Baumann) (1893-1985), Photographer and refugee from Nazi Germany. Artist or producer of 37 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.

Events of 1945back to top

Current affairs

Despite Churchill's popularity during, and indeed after, the War, Clement Attlee wins a landslide Labour victory in the general election. Labour's success was due to its promise of a better society through the Welfare state, and was demonstrative of the public's desire for a new and better post-War society.

Art and science

Noel Coward's Brief Encounter is released. The film, based on Coward's play, Still Life, is about the love affair between two married people who meet at a railway station. Conscious of the risk of being caught the couple decide to break off their relationship to protect their marriages.
George Orwell publishes his satirical novel Animal Farm, as an allegorical critique of Soviet Totalitarianism.

International

A war on two fronts finally proves too much for Germany as allied forces push from the East and West. On the 30th April Hitler committed suicide and Germany soon surrendered to Soviet troops. Victory in Europe was announced on the 8th May. War in the Pacific continued until America dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing 214,000 people, and ending the war with Japan.

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Lucy Walker

07 January 2019, 14:29

Hello
I work at the Britten-Pears Foundation in Aldeburgh, and noticed this photograph today (as I was searching for images of Poulenc). The gentleman on the left is not Peter Pears, although I'm not sure who it is. And the date is very unlikely, as Britten was in the USA in 1941. It's more likely to be around 6 January 1945, when Britten and Poulenc played in Poulenc's Concerto for Two Pianos at The Albert Hall.
Best wishes
Lucy