Herbert Read

1 portrait of Herbert Read

© estate of Edgar Holloway / National Portrait Gallery, London

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Herbert Read

by Edgar Holloway
etching, 1934
8 7/8 in. x 7 3/8 in. (225 mm x 188 mm) plate size; 11 1/2 in. x 9 1/8 in. (292 mm x 232 mm) paper size
Purchased, 2010
Reference Collection
NPG D37805

Sitterback to top

  • Sir Herbert Read (1893-1968), Critic, poet and writer on art. Sitter in 17 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • Edgar Holloway (1914-2008), Painter and print-maker. Artist or producer of 7 portraits, Sitter in 3 portraits.

This portraitback to top

At the time this portrait was made, Holloway lived near Read in Hampstead, a popular artist community whose residents included T.S. Eliot, Henry Moore, Paul Nash, Barbara Hepworth and Stephen Spender. Read described the community as 'a nest of gentle artists'.

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

Events of 1934back to top

Current affairs

Sir Stafford Cripps represents the miners of Gresford Colliery in Wrexham at an inquiry into the recent gas explosion and fire which killed 263 miners, and three rescue workers in one of the worst mining disasters in British history.

Art and science

Percy Shaw invents 'Cat's eyes'. The development of road reflectors increased safety on the roads at night and proved to be particularly useful during the wartime blackout. They are still used today.
Dylan Thomas published his first volume of poetry, 18 Poems.

International

Stalin and Hitler consolidate dictatorial power by 'purging' their opponents. In the Soviet Union, members of the Communist Party and particular sectors of society such as the intelligentsia were targeted in the 'Great Purge', while in Germany Hitler murdered hundreds of potential opponents in the SA during the 'Night of the Long Knives'.
Thousands in the USA are forced to flee their homes to escape the Dust Bowl storms.

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