Vita Sackville-West
5 of 28 portraits of Vita Sackville-West







© Armstrong Jones
- Use this image
- Share this
Vita Sackville-West
by Lord Snowdon
gelatin silver print, 5 June 1961
15 7/8 in. x 12 1/8 in. (403 mm x 307 mm) paper size; 15 3/8 in. x 10 1/2 in. (389 mm x 267 mm) image size
Given by Antony Charles Robert Armstrong Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, 2013
Primary Collection
NPG P1917
Sitterback to top
- Victoria Mary ('Vita') Sackville-West (1892-1962), Writer and gardener; wife of Sir Harold Nicolson. Sitter associated with 28 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Antony Charles Robert Armstrong Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon (1930-2017), Photographer, film-maker and designer; former husband of Princess Margaret. Artist of 285 portraits, Sitter in 22 portraits.
This portraitback to top
Snowdon photographed Sackville-West in the year her final novel No Signposts in the Sea was published.
Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top
- Snowdon: A Life in View (26 September 2014 - 21 June 2015)
Events of 1961back to top
Current affairs
Peter Benenson's article The Forgotten Prisoners is published internationally, inspiring the founding of the human rights organisation, Amnesty International.The philosopher and peace activist Bertrand Russell is imprisoned for inciting civil disobedience during a sit down demonstration at the Ministry of Defence and Hyde Park.
The farthing coin - used in Britain for the last 7 centuries - ceases to be legal tender.
Art and science
Rudolf Nureyev defects from the USSR fearing that the KGB would arrest him for being gay and for fraternising with foreigners. After seeking asylum in Paris he set up home in London at the Royal Ballet and began his famous partnership with Margot Fonteyn.The satirical magazine, Private Eye is first published.
International
The East German government erects the Berlin Wall, ceasing free movement between East and West Berlin. The barrier prevented citizens of Soviet controlled East Germany from crossing the border into West Germany to work, or to defect.Yuri Gagarin, the soviet cosmonaut, becomes the first man in space orbiting the earth on the 12th April.
Tell us more back to top
Can you tell us more about this portrait? Spotted an error, information that is missing (a sitter’s life dates, occupation or family relationships, or a date of portrait for example) or do you know anything that we don't know? If you have information to share please complete the form below.
If you require information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service. You can buy a print of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at £6 for unframed prints, £25 for framed prints. If you wish to license this image, please use our Rights and Images service.
Please note that we cannot provide valuations.
We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.
Related pages
- Mad, Bad and Dangerous: The Cult of Lord Byron
- Private View
- Diana, Princess of Wales
- The Beautiful and the Damned
- Snowdon: Iconic Images
- My Favourite Portrait by Harriet Walter
- Surreal and Solarised Photographs
- In Close Up: Laurence Olivier
- Britain 1960-1990
- Anthony Buckley
- Portraits on paper
- John Hedgecoe: Portraits
Tell us more
Join & Support
Framed & unframed prints
Choose your favourite portrait from our Collection as a framed or unframed print for your home.