Achievement: New Photographs 2011-2013

Past display archive
14 September 2013 - 5 January 2014

Room 37a

Free

Highlighting several key photographic acquisitions, this display celebrates the achievement of individuals at the top of their chosen professions. In acquiring photographs for the collection the curators consider both the achievements of the subject in conjunction with the aesthetics and relevance of the portrayal.

This particular selection focuses on seventeen recently acquired and previously un-exhibited works created in the last two years. The display includes work from two important portfolios created by two women photographers: Anita Corbin and Nancy Honey.

Hattie Morahan, by Francesco Guidicini, 26 October 2012 - NPG - © Francesco Guidicini / National Portrait Gallery, London

Hattie Morahan
by Francesco Guidicini
26 October 2012
NPG x137426

Corbin’s First Women project began three years ago with the aim to record women who were the first to achieve status within their fields, to be completed in 2018, coinciding with the centenary of a key date in the history of women’s suffrage in Britain. Corbin’s subjects include former Attorney General Baroness Scotland and businesswoman Dame Helen Alexander.

Nancy Honey’s 100 Leading Ladies is an investigation of influential British women over fifty. Her sitters have helped transform the perception of what is possible for women to achieve in their lives and were photographed in places selected by the subjects who include writer Deborah Moggach and public relations consultant Lynne Franks.

Four photographs from each of these projects are shown alongside portraits of people working in other artistic endeavours such as painting (Turner Prize nominee Lynette Yiadom-Boakye by Sal Idriss), sculpture (an extra large print of David Mach by Iain Clark), film (James Bond Producer Michael G. Wilson and Skyfall director Sam Mendes by Anderson & Low), performance (acclaimed actresses Hattie Morahan by Francesco Guidicini, Gina McKee by Mark Harrison and Emily Blunt by Jason Bell) and comedy (Chris O’Dowd by Daniel Stier and Charlie Brooker by Chris Floyd).

For further information see:

http://100leadingladies.com/about/