18 OF 28

Vita Sackville-West

18 of 28 portraits of Vita Sackville-West

Vita Sackville-West

by John Gay
vintage bromide print, 1948
5 7/8 in. x 4 5/8 in. (148 mm x 118 mm)
Bequeathed by executors of Marie Anita Gay (Mrs John Gay), 2003
Photographs Collection
NPG x126519

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

John Gay (1909-1999), Photographer. Artist of 295 portraits, Sitter in 5 portraits.

Related worksback to top

NPG 1725: The Brontë Sisters (Anne Brontë; Emily Brontë; Charlotte Brontë) (appears within the portrait)

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1948back to top

Current affairs

Prince Charles is born in Buckingham Palace; he is the first son of Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh
The Secretary of State for Health, Aneurin Bevan, introduces the National Health Service. Health services in Britain were now funded from central taxation and free at the point of use for every resident of the country.

Art and science

The First Morris Minor car designed by Alec Issigonis and his team (also responsible for the Mini) takes to the road, becoming a popular and classic English design.
F.R. Leavis publishes his influential study of the English novel, The Great Tradition. The book set out Leavis's ideas on the proper relationship between literary form and moral concern.

International

The policy of Apartheid is adopted in South Africa. Apartheid was a set of laws allowing racial segregation and discrimination against the black majority by the white ruling class.
As part of the dispute between Western and Soviet controlled Berlin, the Soviet Union blockades West Berlin, cutting off supplies. Anxious to avoid a conflict, America, Britain and France responded by flying in food and other provisions.

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