A.S. Byatt







© Norman McBeath / National Portrait Gallery, London
- Buy a print
- Buy greetings card
- Use this image
- Share this
A.S. Byatt
by Norman McBeath
bromide fibre print, 29 October 1997
11 in. x 10 7/8 in. (278 mm x 276 mm)
Given by Norman McBeath, 2004
Photographs Collection
NPG x126410
Sitterback to top
- Dame Antonia Susan ('A.S.') Byatt (1936-2023), Novelist, critic and editor. Sitter in 8 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Norman McBeath (1952-), Photographer. Artist or producer of 54 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.
Events of 1997back to top
Current affairs
The Labour party - re-branded as New Labour - win a spectacular landslide election and Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister. Their electoral campaign promised that 'things can only get better' and that their priorities would be 'education, education, education.' While New Labour's 'third way' centralist approach put off some party traditionalists, it secured the popular vote.Princess Diana and her lover Dodi Fayed die in a car crash in Paris.
Art and science
J.K. Rowling publishes Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first of seven fantasy books chronicling the life of Harry and his friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: learning magic, breaking school rules, romantic entanglements and their struggles against the evil Lord Voldemort.Scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland announce that they have cloned the first mammal from an adult cell: '6LL3', or Dolly the Sheep.
International
Governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten hands the island back to China after one hundred and fifty years as a British Colony. Although sovereignty was restored to China, it was agreed that the Island would become a 'Special Administrative Region' under the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle, effectively keeping its capitalist economy and way of life for a period of 50 years.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.